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Webster 1913 Edition


Vex

Vex

(vĕks)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Vexed
(vĕkst)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Vexing
.]
[F.
vexer
, L.
vexare
,
vexatum
, to vex, originally, to shake, toss, in carrying, v. intens. fr.
vehere
,
vectum
, to carry. See
Vehicle
.]
1.
To toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet.
White curl the waves, and the
vexed
ocean roars.
Pope.
2.
To make angry or annoyed by little provocations; to irritate; to plague; to torment; to harass; to afflict; to trouble; to tease.
“I will not vex your souls.”
Shak.
Ten thousand torments
vex
my heart.
Prior.
3.
To twist; to weave.
[R.]
Some English wool,
vexed
in a Belgian loom.
Dryden.
Syn. – See
Tease
.

Vex

,
Verb.
I.
To be irritated; to fret.
[R.]
Chapman.

Webster 1828 Edition


Vex

VEX

,
Verb.
T.
[L. vexo.]
1.
To irritate; to make angry by little provocations; a popular use of the word.
2.
To plague; to torment; to harass; to afflict.
Ten thousand torments vex my heart.
3.
To disturb; to disquiet; to agitate.
White curl the waves, and the vex'd ocean roars.
4.
To trouble; to distress.
I will also vex the hearts of many people. Ezek. 32.
5.
To persecute. Act. 12.
6.
To stretch, as by hooks. [Not in use.]

VEX

,
Verb.
I.
To fret; to be teased or irritated.

Definition 2024


vex

vex

See also: VEX

English

Verb

vex (third-person singular simple present vexes, present participle vexing, simple past and past participle vexed)

  1. (transitive, now rare) To trouble aggressively, to harass.
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts XII:
      In that tyme Herode the kynge layed hondes on certayne of the congregacion, to vexe them.
  2. (transitive) To annoy, irritate.
    Billy's professor was vexed by his continued failure to improve his grades.
  3. (transitive) To cause (mental) suffering to; to distress.
  4. (transitive, rare) To twist, to weave.
    • Dryden
      some English wool, vexed in a Belgian loom
  5. (intransitive, obsolete) To be irritated; to fret.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chapman to this entry?)
  6. (transitive) To toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet.
    • Alexander Pope
      White curl the waves, and the vexed ocean roars.

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:vex.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations