Vexatious
//vɛkˈseɪʃəs// adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Causing vexation or annoyance; teasing; troublesome.
"Although this letter is vexatious, I must not forget that my little entertainment has brought me a visiter in the Marquess of Wentworthdale, on an errand of no small moment, as the Countess of Rotheles may soon learn, to her surprise, for I shall, probably, see him at the Opera to-night."
- 2 Full of trouble or disquiet archaic
"He leads a vexatious life."
- 3 Commenced for the purpose of giving trouble, without due cause.
"a vexatious lawsuit"
- 4 In the habit of starting vexatious litigation and therefore liable to have restraints placed on one's ability to access the courts.
"a vexatious litigant"
Adjective
- 1 causing irritation or annoyance wordnet
Example
More examples"Life is a vexatious trap; when a thinking man reaches maturity and attains to full consciousness he cannot help feeling that he is in a trap from which there is no escape."
Etymology
a 1650 vexation + -ous
More for "vexatious"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.