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vex

If something vexes you, it brings you trouble or difficulty. In other words, it annoys, worries, distresses, irritates, bothers, or puzzles you.

Vex can be used as an adjective: for example, a vexing issue is not easily solved. The verb vex, the corresponding adjective vexatious, and the noun vexation are all slightly old-fashioned though still in current use. Vex descends from Middle English vexen, from Middle French vexer, from Latin vexare "to shake, attack, trouble."

DEFINITIONS OF: vex

1

v cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations

Synonyms:
annoy, bother, chafe, devil, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, nark, nettle, rag, rile
chafe
feel extreme irritation or anger
Types:
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get, get under one's skin
irritate
eat into, fret, grate, rankle
gnaw into; make resentful or angry
peeve
cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful
ruffle
trouble or vex
fret
cause annoyance in
beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke
annoy continually or chronically
antagonise, antagonize
provoke the hostility of
goad, needle
goad or provoke,as by constant criticism
bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, rag, torment
treat cruelly
haze
harass by imposing humiliating or painful tasks, as in military institutions
Type of:
displease
give displeasure to

v disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress

Synonyms:
worry
worry
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
Antonyms:
assure, reassure
cause to feel sure; give reassurance to
Types:
misgive
suggest fear or doubt
eat, eat on
worry or cause anxiety in a persistent way
nag
worry persistently
Type of:
cark, disorder, disquiet, distract, perturb, trouble, unhinge
disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed

v be a mystery or bewildering to

“a vexing problem”
Synonyms:
amaze, baffle, beat, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy
Types:
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mix up, stump
cause to be perplexed or confounded
riddle
set a difficult problem or riddle
elude, escape
be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by
defy, refuse, resist
elude, especially in a baffling way
Type of:
bedevil, befuddle, confound, confuse, discombobulate, fox, fuddle, throw
be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly

v subject to prolonged examination, discussion, or deliberation

“vex the subject of the death penalty”
Type of:
debate, deliberate
discuss the pros and cons of an issue

v change the arrangement or position of

Synonyms:
agitate, commove, disturb, raise up, shake up, stir up
Types:
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beat, scramble
stir vigorously
toss
agitate
rile, roil
make turbid by stirring up the sediments of
poke
stir by poking
tumble
put clothes in a tumbling barrel, where they are whirled about in hot air, usually with the purpose of drying
whip, whisk
whip with or as if with a wire whisk
cream
make creamy by beating
muddle, puddle
make into a puddle
Type of:
displace, move
cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
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