Vex
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A trouble. Scotland, obsolete
- 1 To annoy, irritate. transitive
"Billy's professor was vexed by his continued failure to improve his grades."
- 2 be a mystery or bewildering to wordnet
- 3 To cause (mental) suffering to; to distress. transitive
"I will not again vex her ear with words of love, however true, however deep: ours is an evil destiny, and we may not control it!"
- 4 subject to prolonged examination, discussion, or deliberation wordnet
- 5 To trouble aggressively, to harass. archaic, transitive
"In that tyme Herode the kynge layed hondes on certayne of the congregaciõ, to vexe them."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 change the arrangement or position of wordnet
- 7 To twist, to weave. rare, transitive
"some English wool, vexed in a Belgian loom"
- 8 disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress wordnet
- 9 To be irritated; to fret. intransitive, obsolete
"Wake when thou would'st wake, fear nought, vex for nought"
- 10 cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations wordnet
- 11 To toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet. transitive
"White curl the waves, and the vexed ocean roars."
- 1 Initialism of Venus Express. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"It is not right to vex ourselves at things, for they care nought about it."
Etymology
From Middle English vexen, from Old French vexer, from Latin vexāre (“disturb, agitate, annoy”). Doublet of quake. Displaced native Old English dreċċan and gremman.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.