Definition of VEX

vex

Plural: vexes

Verb

Verb Forms: vexed, vext, vexing, vexes

  • To annoy, irritate, or trouble someone.
  • cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
  • disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress
  • change the arrangement or position of
  • subject to prolonged examination, discussion, or deliberation
    • "vex the subject of the death penalty"
  • be a mystery or bewildering to
    • "a vexing problem"
  • To annoy, irritate.
  • To cause (mental) suffering to; to distress.
  • To trouble aggressively, to harass.
  • To twist, to weave.
  • To be irritated; to fret.
  • To toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet.

Noun

  • A trouble.

Examples

  • Billy's professor was vexed by his continued failure to improve his grades.
  • It truly vexes a Scrabble player when an opponent finds a seven-letter word on their first turn.

Origin / 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.

Synonyms

agitate, amaze, annoy, baffle, beat, bewilder, bother, chafe, commove, devil, disturb, dumbfound, flummox, get, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, mystify, nark, nettle, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, rag, raise up, rile, shake up, stick, stir up, stupefy, worry, Idioms:, afflict, aggravate, aggrieve, antagonize, atray, badger, bait, bedevil, beleaguer, beset, boil someone's piss, botherate, bug, burn up, cag, chap someone's hide, cheese off, chevy, disgruntle, distress, engrieve, exasperate, frustrate, fume, get on someone's nerves, get on someone's tits, get on someone's wick, get someone's Irish up, get someone's back up, get someone's dander up, get someone's goat, get someone's nanny, get someone's nanny-goat, get under one's goat, get up, give someone grief, give someone the shits, grame, grate, grind one's gears, grotch, hack off, harass, harrow, harry, harsh one's mellow, hassle, hound, irk, jazz, molest, mommick, pee off, peeve, persecute, pester, pick at, pique, piss off, plague, provoke, put someone's back up, raise someone's hackles, rankle, rend, rile up, roil, rub someone the wrong way, rub up the wrong way, ruffle, ruffle someone's feathers, sting, storm, tee off, test someone's patience, tick off, torment, torque off, trouble, try one's patience, vex, wind up, wring

Scrabble Score: 13

vex: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
vex: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
vex: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

vex: valid Words With Friends Word