adj, noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   vexation

   "Many unkindnesses as well as (one feels) many liberties and general vexings, were required to move her to this."

Verb

1. 1
   present participle and gerund of vex form-of, gerund, participle, present

Adjective

1. 1
   Causing annoyance or pain; irritating.

Adjective

1. 1
   causing irritation or annoyance wordnet
2. 2
   extremely annoying or displeasing wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

exasperatingpestiferousaggravatingannoyanceannoyingannoying

Example

More examples

"Mary has a rather vexing problem."

Etymology

From Middle English vexynge (“harassment”); equivalent to vex + -ing.

Related phrases

most vexing parsevexing glass

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