Vexed

//ˈvɛkst// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of vex form-of, participle, past
Adjective
  1. 1
    annoyed, irritated or distressed

    "She became more and more vexed as she struggled to cope with the demands of the job."

  2. 2
    much debated, discussed or disputed

    "The question, however, as to whether rinderpest bile is capable of producing the disease in a herd innoculated with it is a very vexed one, and round this point heated controversies have been waged in other places than in Natal."

Adjective
  1. 1
    causing difficulty in finding an answer or solution; much disputed wordnet
  2. 2
    troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances wordnet

Example

More examples

"Nothing vexed her more than his selfishness."

Etymology

From Middle English vexed, vexede, vexit, vixid, equivalent to vex + -ed.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.