vex

/vɛks/

/vɛks/

Other forms: vexed; vexing; vexes

If something vexes you, it brings you trouble or difficulty. In other words, it annoys, worries, distresses, irritates, bothers, or puzzles you.

Vex can be used as an adjective: for example, a vexing issue is not easily solved. The verb vex, the corresponding adjective vexatious, and the noun vexation are all slightly old-fashioned though still in current use. Vex descends through Middle English from Latin vexare, "to shake, attack, trouble."

Definitions of vex

1. verb

   cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
   synonyms: annoy, bother, chafe, devil, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, nark, nettle, rag, rile

   chafe

   feel extreme irritation or anger

   types:

   get, get under one's skin

   irritate

   eat into, fester, fret, gnaw, grate, rankle

   gnaw into; make resentful or angry

   peeve

   cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful

   ruffle

   trouble or vex

   fret

   cause annoyance in

   beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke

   annoy continually or chronically

   antagonise, antagonize

   provoke the hostility of

   goad, needle

   goad or provoke, as by constant criticism

   bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, rag, torment

   treat cruelly

   haze

   harass by imposing humiliating or painful tasks, as in military institutions

   type of:

   displease

   give displeasure to
2. verb

   disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress
   synonyms: worry

   worry

   be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy

   types:

   misgive

   suggest fear or doubt

   eat, eat on

   worry or cause anxiety in a persistent way

   nag

   worry persistently

   type of:

   cark, disorder, disquiet, distract, perturb, trouble, unhinge

   disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed
3. verb

   be puzzling or bewildering to
   “a vexing problem”

   synonyms: amaze, baffle, beat, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy

   types:

   mix up, stump

   cause to be perplexed or confounded

   riddle

   set a difficult problem or riddle

   elude, escape

   be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by

   defy, refuse, resist

   elude, especially in a baffling way

   type of:

   bedevil, befuddle, confound, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw

   be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly
4. verb

   subject to prolonged examination, discussion, or deliberation
   type of:

   debate, deliberate

   discuss the pros and cons of an issue
5. verb

   change the arrangement or position of
   synonyms: agitate, commove, disturb, raise up, shake up, stir up

   types:

   beat, scramble

   stir vigorously

   toss

   agitate

   rile, roil

   make turbid by stirring up the sediments of

   poke

   stir by poking

   tumble

   put clothes in a tumbling barrel, where they are whirled about in hot air, usually with the purpose of drying

   whip, whisk

   whip with or as if with a wire whisk

   cream

   make creamy by beating

   muddle, puddle

   make into a puddle

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense