vexing
Americanadjective
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irritating, provoking, or annoying.
Automatic file recovery reintroduced errors already corrected at the proofing stage—which was very vexing.
-
tormenting, troubling, or distressing.
She came to see racism as her country's most vexing problem.
Other Word Forms
- vexingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of vexing
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And Mrs. Caruthers said nothing but nice things about Clara, which might be vexing but also made Ophie think she wouldn’t have wanted Clara killed.
From Literature
The great butlers are great by virtue of their ability to inhabit their professional role and inhabit it to the utmost; they will not be shaken out by external events, however surprising, alarming or vexing.
From Literature
It is a vexing matter of some note that when the foraging party aboard the Crepuscule sloop-of-war returned this morning, they reported they had lost several of their number in an engagement upon the Rappahannock.
From Literature
“Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves.”
From Literature
I have spent a vexing half hour scrapping with Fräulein Engel over the pen nib, which I swear I did not bend on purpose the first time.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
