vexv.

Brit.

/vɛks/, U.S.

/vɛks/

Forms: late Middle English fexst (south-western, past participle), late Middle English vix, late Middle English wexe, late Middle English (1500s–1600s Scottish) wex, late Middle English–1600s vexe, late Middle English– vex, 1500s–1600s uex, 1500s–1600s uexe, 1900s– bex (Caribbean). N.E.D. (1916) also records the forms late Middle English uex, late Middle English wix.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French vexer.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French vexer (French vexer ) to harass (a person), to annoy (a person) (both last quarter of the 14th cent.; frequently from the early 15th cent. in legal contexts, with reference to harassing a person by legal claims or abuses of power) < classical Latin vexāre to agitate, to damage, injure, to attack constantly, harry, to devastate, ravage, to harass, distress, persecute, torment, to disturb, trouble, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to vehere to carry (see vehicle n.).Compare Old Occitan vexar (13th cent.; Occitan vexar), Catalan vexar (1375), Spanish vejar (1531 or earlier), Portuguese vexar (1589), Italian vessare (a1542), and also Middle Dutch (in late sources) vexēren (Dutch vexeeren), Middle Low German vexēren. Compare also Anglo-Norman viescer (late 11th cent.) and Old Occitan vesar (14th cent.), which probably show rare adaptations of the Latin verb into French.

I. To distress, trouble, harass, worry, or annoy (a person, a group, a person's thoughts or feelings, etc.).

a. transitive. To trouble, afflict, or harass (a person, etc.) by aggression, encroachment, or other interference with peace and quiet; to cause damage, detriment, or difficulty to. Also with with, specifying the instrument or means by which a person is troubled, harassed, etc.Now usually with overtones of sense 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > harass [verb (transitive)]

tawc893

ermec897

swencheOE

besetOE

bestandc1000

teenOE

baitc1175

grieve?c1225

war?c1225

noyc1300

pursuec1300

travailc1300

to work (also do) annoyc1300

tribula1325

worka1325

to hold wakenc1330

chase1340

twistc1374

wrap1380

cumbera1400

harrya1400

vexc1410

encumber1413

inquiet1413

molest?a1425

course1466

persecutec1475

trouble1489

sturt1513

hare1523

hag1525

hale1530

exercise1531

to grate on or upon1532

to hold or keep waking1533

infest1533

scourge1540

molestate1543

pinch1548

trounce1551

to shake upa1556

tire1558

moila1560

pester1566

importune1578

hunt1583

moider1587

bebait1589

commacerate1596

bepester1600

ferret1600

harsell1603

hurry1611

gall1614

betoil1622

weary1633

tribulatea1637

harass1656

dun1659

overharry1665

worry1671

haul1678

to plague the life out of1746

badger1782

hatchel1800

worry1811

bedevil1823

devil1823

victimize1830

frab1848

mither1848

to pester the life out of1848

haik1855

beplague1870

chevy1872

obsede1876

to get on ——1880

to load up with1880

tail-twist1898

hassle1901

heckle1920

snooter1923

hassle1945

to breathe down (the back of) (someone's) neck1946

to bust (a person's) chops1953

noodge1960

monster1967

c1410 tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 87 Þe navy of Danes..vexed [L. vexavit] þe Englische eft wiþ manyfolde desceyvynge, now robbynge, now aȝen comynge.

1426 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 7 I haue nought trespassed a-geyn noon of these iij,..and yet I am foule and noysyngly vexed with hem to my gret vnease.

c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 3653 (MED) Hanybald shall..wexe ȝewe no more, but let ȝew go in pese.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Macc. viii. 32 They slewe Philarches that wicked personne, which was with Timotheus, and had vexed many Iewes.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. xvi^v It was not sufficient.., this realme to be..vexed with the craftie practices and inuencions of the Frenche men.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. clxxxiiij^v He,..to thend he might vex the Turkes in an other quarter, was fully resolued to go foreward.

1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper i. 40 So did hee vexe the Church with various and interchangeable pomp of sufferances.

1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 142 He does unjustly, and bewrayeth a disposition rather to vex other men, than to demand his own right.

1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) ii. v Then shall He in his Wrath address, And vex his baffled Enemies.

1797 C. Ludger tr. J. P. Siebenkees Life Bianca Capello 102 He..vexed the people with pecuniary extortions.

1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. iii. 169 Whom she praised to-day, Vexing his ear with acclamations loud.

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxix. 47 With such compelling cause to grieve As daily vexes household peace.

1890 J. S. Blackie Song of Heroes iii. iii. 218 Never, While her ships might plough the main, Shall that fell respectless Titan Vex free souls with galling chain.

1915 J. London Star Rover vii. 55 Because of the struggle I had vexed them with, they laced me extra tight.

1959 P. O'Brian Unknown Shore vii. 144 We had set about to vex his nation.

1987 P. D. Nelson Life W. Alexander, Lord Stirling vii. 114 He left Anthony Wayne and William Smallwood with separate troop detachments to vex the enemy's flanks.

2010 S. J. Miller in D. W. Hayton et al. 18th-cent. Composite State vii. 190 The collectors vexed them with threats, lawsuits, and arbitrary demands.

†b. transitive. To harass (a person) out of his or her possessions. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > loss > taking away > take away [verb (transitive)] > deprive (of) > by wheedling, blustering, or worrying

wheedle1670

outbluster1747

vex1878

1878 R. Simpson tr. Prodigal Son iii, in R. Simpson School of Shakspere II. 103 Such openhanded fellows are not often to be found. So we must fasten on him, till we have stolen and vexed him out of all he has.

a. transitive. To affect with a feeling of dissatisfaction, frustration, annoyance, or irritation, now especially with trivial matters; to cause (a person) to fret or feel unhappy; to bother, upset.Now the predominant sense, and influencing others.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > be annoyed or vexed by [verb (transitive)] > annoy or vex

gremec893

dretchc900

awhenec1000

teenOE

fretc1290

annoyc1300

atrayc1320

encumberc1330

diseasec1340

grindc1350

distemperc1386

offenda1387

arra1400

avexa1400

derea1400

miscomforta1400

angerc1400

engrievec1400

vex1418

molesta1425

entrouble?1435

destroublea1450

poina1450

rubc1450

to wring (a person) on the mailsc1450

disprofit1483

agrea1492

trouble1515

grig1553

mis-set?1553

nip?1553

grate1555

gripe1559

spitec1563

fike?1572

gall1573

corsie1574

corrosive1581

touch1581

disaccommodate1586

macerate1588

perplex1590

thorn1592

exulcerate1593

plague1595

incommode1598

affret1600

brier1601

to gall or tread on (one's) kibes1603

discommodate1606

incommodate1611

to grate on or upon1631

disincommodate1635

shog1636

ulcerate1647

incommodiate1650

to put (a person) out of his (her, etc.) way1653

discommodiate1654

discommode1657

ruffle1659

regrate1661

disoblige1668

torment1718

pesta1729

chagrin1734

pingle1740

bothera1745

potter1747

wherrit1762

to tweak the nose of1784

to play up1803

tout1808

rasp1810

outrage1818

worrit1818

werrit1825

buggerlug1850

taigle1865

get1867

to give a person the pip1881

to get across ——1888

nark1888

eat1893

to twist the tail1895

dudgeon1906

to tweak the tail of1909

sore1929

to put up1930

wouldn't it rip you!1941

sheg1943

to dick around1944

cheese1946

to pee off1946

to honk off1970

to fuck off1973

to tweak (a person's or thing's) tail1977

to tweak (a person's or thing's) nose1983

to wind up1984

to dick about1996

to-teen-

1418 H. Chichele in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 5 (MED) It semeth to me no more to vexe ȝour Hygnesse with myche redyng.

a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 57 (MED) Þe forme woman Eue vexude God more þen dyd man.

c1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 33 This wexit him mair nor all the troubillis that he had of befoir and [he] was the mair crabbit with him sellffe beand estemed with all men within the realme ane man of singular guid wit.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. iv. 59 Away, I say: stayest thou to vexe me here?

1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. iv. 127 They vexe me past my patience.

1662 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 182 It vexes my very soul to heare how the base bumpkins triumph.

1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads i. 312 Which, angry as he is, will vexe him worse.

1714 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. c12 Oct. (1965) I. 230 Your Letter very much vex'd me.

1753 E. F. Haywood Jemmy & Jenny Jessamy II. xxviii. 268 It vex'd him a good deal, to find that the providing a place for their meeting was required of him.

1791 C. Smith Let. 17 Jan. (2003) 33 They shall be sent back, sewn in soft cloth to prevent..any injury, which would vex me extremely.

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. x. viii. 106 Nothing vexes me, but that Antonia has not a thumping fortune to bring with her.

1835 Politeness & Good-breeding 28 This boy or girl..who never sneers at or jeers you, or tries to vex your feelings.

1892 Law Rep.: Weekly Notes 17 Dec. 188/1 The defendant had been maliciously making noises for the mere purpose of vexing and annoying the plaintiffs.

1950 ‘A. White’ Lost Traveller ii. ii. 94 I'm sure I never mean to vex her. But every little thing does seem to aggravate her so.

1977 Periodical 40 196 Nothing vexes me more than to go into a bookshop and find not just one price sticker on the book jacket..but sometimes two or more.

2011 S. Kelman Pigeon Eng. 97 Stop vexing your sister!

b. transitive. To irritate, annoy, or tease (an animal).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > anger > irritation > irritate [verb (transitive)]

gremec893

grillc897

teenOE

mispay?c1225

agrillec1275

oftenec1275

tarya1300

tarc1300

atenec1320

enchafec1374

to-tarc1384

stingc1386

chafe?a1400

pokec1400

irec1420

ertc1440

rehete1447

nettlec1450

bog1546

tickle1548

touch1581

urge1593

aggravate1598

irritate1598

dishumour1600

to wind up1602

to pick at ——1603

outhumour1607

vex1625

bloody1633

efferate1653

rankle1659

spleen1689

splenetize1700

rile1724

roil1742

to put out1796

to touch (also get, catch, etc.) (a person) on the raw1823

roughen1837

acerbate1845

to stroke against the hair, the wrong way (of the hair)1846

nag1849

to rub (a person, etc.) up the wrong way1859

frump1862

rattle1865

to set up any one's bristles1873

urticate1873

needle1874

draw1876

to rough up1877

to stick pins into1879

to get on ——1880

to make (someone) tiredc1883

razoo1890

to get under a person's skin1896

to get a person's goat1905

to be on at1907

to get a person's nanny1909

cag1919

to get a person's nanny-goat1928

cagmag1932

peeve1934

tick-off1934

to get on a person's tits1945

to piss off1946

bug1947

to get up a person's nose1951

tee1955

bum1970

tick1975

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (transitive)] > an animal in specific way

vex1625

worry1807

canister1815

tail-pipe1815

1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes II. ix. vi. 1472 As they [sc. elephants] stand in the Sunne the Flyes often vex them, wherefore with their feete they make dust,..and with their Truncks cast it about their bodies to driue away the Flyes.

a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1657 (1955) III. 200 Two Virginian rattle-snakes..when vexed or provoked, swiftly vibrating & shaking theire tailes.

1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives V. 470 She vexed and pricked it [sc. an asp] with a golden spindle till it seized her arm.

1771 Encycl. Brit. II. 584/2 It is dangerous to let him [sc. a lion] suffer hunger long, or to vex him by ill-timed teazings.

1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. iv. 68 Vex not too far the lion, chained though he be.

1879 Boys of Eng. 24 Oct. 381/1 Are you tired of life, master, that you vex the dog thus?

1930 Scotsman 29 Sept. 12/1 His [sc. an Alsatian's] is not the kind of temperament that the most desperate criminal would seek deliberately to vex.

1997 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 24 May c12 Please do not..vex, disquiet, grate, beset, bother, tease, nettle, tantalize or ruffle the animals.

a. transitive. To afflict with mental agitation or trouble; to make anxious or depressed; to distress deeply or seriously; to torment with worry or despair.Now usually with weakened force, passing into sense 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > be anxious about [verb (transitive)] > make anxious

carkc1330

vex?a1425

solicita1450

embusy1485

to lie heavy at or to one's hearta1616

to weird out1970

to stress out1983

?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 310 (MED) Þat feend þerfore vexeþ hym þanne of mysbileeue for to brynge hym to dispeir.

a1450 (?1419–20) Friar Daw's Reply (Digby) l. 64 in P. L. Heyworth Jack Upland (1968) 75 Forwriþen serpent, þi wyles ben aspied Wiþ a þousand wrynkels þou vexes [emended in ed. to vexest] many soules.

1472 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) I. 126 (MED) Shee..hath ben vexed and trowbelyd with þe þrowes of love.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 109 I walk, I turne, sleip may I nocht, I vexit am with havie thocht.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. v. sig. Cc7^v She..Day and night did vexe her carefull thought, And euer more and more her owne affliction wrought.

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xxiv. 308 Vex not his ghost, O let him passe.

1704 L. Lillingston Refl. Mr Burchet's Mem. 32 To vex our thoughts with the Consideration of our Misfortunes.

1730 J. Thomson Spring in Seasons 19 These, and a thousand mixt emotions more,..vex the mind With endless storm.

1774 J. H. Wynne Compl. Hist. Ireland (new ed.) I. 377 As this revolt had vexed him to the heart, he resolved that the author of it should not escape his vengeance.

1806 W. Wordsworth Horn Egremont Castle 55 It was a pang that vexed him then; And oft returned, again, and yet again.

1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. viii. 154 Most of us know what it is to vex our minds because we cannot recall some name, or trivial thing, which has escaped our memory for the moment.

1880 W. Watson Prince's Quest 15 There fell a sadness on him, thus to be Vext with desire of her he might not see Yet could not choose but long for.

1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song iv. 253 And suddenly..she was calm and secure, putting Ewan from her heart, locking it up that he never could vex her again.

1992 A. Thorpe Ulverton iv. 84 I look in the glass and see how tiresome I am, poor pale thing, to vex you with my sentiments and my passions.

b. transitive. Of a question, problem, subject, etc.: to present with difficulties with regard to resolution or understanding; to perplex, confound.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > confuse, perplex, bewilder [verb (transitive)]

abobc1330

confusec1350

confoundc1374

cumbera1375

passc1384

maskerc1400

mopc1425

enose1430

manga1450

overmusec1460

perplex1477

maze1482

enmuse1502

ruffle?a1505

unsteady1532

entangle1540

duddle1548

intricate1548

distraught1579

distract1582

mizzle1583

moider1587

amuse1595

mist1598

bepuzzle1599

gravel1601

plunder1601

puzzle1603

intrigue1612

vexa1613

metagrobolize?a1616

befumea1618

fuddle1617

crucify1621

bumfiddlea1625

implicate1625

giddify1628

wilder1642

buzzlea1644

empuzzle1646

dunce1649

addle1652

meander1652

emberlucock1653

flounder1654

study1654

disorient1655

embarrass?1656

essome1660

embrangle1664

jumble1668

dunt1672

muse1673

clutter1685

emblustricate1693

fluster1720

disorientate1728

obfuscate1729

fickle1736

flustrate1797

unharmonize1797

mystify1806

maffle1811

boggle1835

unballast1836

stomber1841

throw1844

serpentine1850

unbalance1856

tickle1865

fog1872

bumfuzzle1878

wander1897

to put off1909

defeat1914

dither1919

befuddle1926

ungear1931

to screw up1941

a1613 E. Brerewood Enq. Langs. & Relig. (1614) vii. 55 I could produce other forceable reasons, such as might..vex the best wit in the world to giue them iust solution.

1678 P. Walsh Answer Three Treat. Jesuites Loyalty iii. 68 I should think there is an end of the story; and the tedious troublesome question, which has vext us so many years, fully resolved.

1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest II. xi. 172 The question vexed and embarrassed her, and, without answering it, she repeated her inquiry.

1871 W. Markby Elem. Law §531 No subject has vexed English judges more than the question, what remedy a debtor has for a wrongful..sale by a creditor of property which he holds as security.

1928 Sat. Rev. 28 July 115/2 The main problem to vex American judges is the question how far a man can be subjected to a medical examination by someone who is not his doctor at all.

1938 E. Waugh Scoop (1943) ii. ii. 120 Corker reverted to the topic that was vexing him.

1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 14 May a9 Commission members reached no conclusion on another question that has vexed them for months.

2015 Oxf. Mail (Nexis) 27 July (Letters section) I thought I'd share my perspective on an issue whose solution vexes most of us: NHS treatment in Oxford.

a. transitive (reflexive). To trouble, distress, or worry oneself; to make oneself anxious, unhappy, or irritated. Also with about, over, with.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > make oneself anxious [verb (reflexive)]

vex?a1425

to fash one's thumb1786

ruck1874

?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 118 (MED) Whi wiltow so myche laboure & vexe þisilf?

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 128 Þis preste gretlie blamyd hym for his syn,..& þis man wexid hym [= himself] gretlie and slew hym.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) John xi. f. cxxxviij He groned in his spret, and vexed hym silfe and sayde: Where have ye layed hym?

1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 61 Not to eate our heartes: That is, that wee shoulde not vexe our selues wyth thoughtes.

1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. xii. 18 How will he then vexe himselfe, if we tell him that the childe is dead?

a1653 H. Binning Wks. (1735) 159/1 Ye toil and vex your selves, and spend your Time about that Body and Life.

1750 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) II. 316 Lady Catherine grew frightened, lest her infanta should vex herself sick.

a1779 D. Garrick Let. in Private Corr. (1832) II. 337 I must desire you not to vex yourself with unnecessary delicacy upon my account.

1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl IV. iv. 102 Don't vex yourself aboot me, mamma; I warrant I've stuff enow aboot me to teak care of myself.

1832 J. J. Blunt Reformation in Eng. ii. 35 He vexes himself because he cannot make a hundred watches go by his own.

1842 tr. B. Overberg in Catholic Mag. Apr. 207 I had often quite inordinately longed for trifles, and had immoderately vexed myself over their loss.

1873 ‘Ouida’ Pascarèl I. 41 Why will you vex yourself about your father?

1930 H. Jackson Anat. Bibliomania I. xi. iii. 234 Thomas Carlyle, making an enjoyment of being annoyed at life, vexed himself with the reading of all varieties of books for recreation and condemnation.

1982 ‘E. Peters’ Virgin in Ice (1984) vii. 91 Oh, hush, hush, you mustn't vex yourself so. Lie down, you're too weak to rise.

2015 Irish Independent (Nexis) 21 Aug. 16 You have at least three months before you really need to vex yourself.

b. intransitive. To feel distressed or troubled; to be unhappy or irritated; to worry, fret. Frequently with clause as complement, expressing the source of distress, worry, irritation, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > be annoyed or vexed [verb (intransitive)]

gramea1225

aruea1230

irkc1330

teena1400

it irks (me)1483

heavec1540

vex1592

chagrin1728

1592 Greenes Groats-worth of Witte sig. D A yong Gentleman,..vexing that the Sonne of a Farmer should bee so preferd, cast in his minde by what meanes..hee might steale away the Bride.

1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. viii. sig. G5 I doe sadly grieue, and inly vexe To view the base dishonors of our sexe.

1611 Tarlton's Jests (1844) 28 Tarlton..supt with the bailiffe that night, where my theamer durst not come, although he were sent for, so much he vexed at that unlookt for answer.

1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xxxiii. 412 It makes us vex if we be crossed in the least of our desires.

a1672 Bp. J. Wilkins Of Princ. Nat. Relig. (1675) 257 Men usually vex and repine at that which is extraordinary and unusual.

1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 197 When they go by Water, if there proves a Head-Wind, they never vex and fret as the Europeans do.

1770 H. L. Thrale Let. 17 July in R. W. Chapman Lett. of Johnson (1952) I. 242 Mr. Thrale particularly vexes lest you should not see Matlock on a moonlight Night.

1804 C. Smith Conversations I. 137 But since it is so,..I must not vex about it.

1854 M. L. Charlesworth Ministering Children xxi. 324 All this time, while vexing over Mercy's toil,..Mrs. Smith never named the absent Molly.

1856 Cottager's Monthly Visitor Aug. 262 My good wife..takes it all like an angel, and only vexes that the other end of the village is not so handy to my work.

1883 Primitive Methodist Mag. 64 247/1 ‘Don't vex for me,’ said he, as he saw his wife in great distress.

1885 Kirke's Mill, & Other Stories 191 This was just the chance to try whether she vexed to see me in your place.

1902 A. Raine Welsh Witch xiii. 191 Don't vex about it.

1915 W. L. Williams Diary 8 Aug. in National Libr. Wales Jrnl. (Electronic text) (2008) 34 361 Mrs Lloyd George told my wife that he was vexing lest I might so far commit myself as to stop my career and chance of a judgeship.

1994 S. Deen Solving East Indian Roots v. 167 If me or mih brother Omar go, she used to vex. She used to quarrel.

2003 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 May 39/3 He believed..that this ‘latent axiom’ was the key to proving the conjecture, which he continued to vex over until his death in 1871.

5. transitive. Esp. of disease, pain, etc.: to affect with physical discomfort, distress, or suffering; to afflict.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > affect or afflict

aileOE

takec1300

visitc1340

troublec1400

vex?c1425

surprise1485

vizy1488

attaintc1534

heart-burn?1537

molest1559

gar1614

possess1617

misaffect1618

corrept1657

invalid1803

the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > suffer pain [verb (transitive)] > cause pain

aileOE

grieve?c1225

girdc1275

painc1375

putc1390

sorea1400

troublec1400

anguisha1425

vex?c1425

urn1488

suffera1500

exagitate1532

fire1602

trachle1889

?c1425 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Royal 17 D.vi) (1897) l. 2491 (MED) Yf he be vexed with maladie, Mynystre hym helpe, his greef to remedie.

c1453 (c1437) Brut (Harl. 53) 563 (MED) A sore and a fervent malady..fro day to day hym vexit til he deyed.

1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Bi ^v To endure the moost paynful crampes soo greuously vexynge her.

1535 S. Vaughan Let. Feb. in Lett. & Papers Reign Henry VIII (1885) (modernized text) VIII. 124 After the fever vexed me I was told it had taken you.

?1575 tr. H. Niclaes Terra Pacis xv. f. 28 Certen Thistles and Thornes, which do many tymes somwhat vex the Trauailer.

1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. ii. 75 The whorson Rascals have unfram'd and burst me; No limb is sound, no joynt, the smallest rustle Against my body, vexes every muscle.

1728 W. Kennett in W. Pattison Cupid's Metamorph. 309 His ill-foreboding Fears deny him Rest, And fancy'd Poxes vex his tortur'd Bones!

1746 P. Francis tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epistles i. vi. 42 Would You not wish to cure th' acuter Pains, That rack thy tortur'd Side, or vex thy Reins?

1785 W. Cowper Task i. 582 Feigning sickness oft, They swathe the forehead, drag the limping limb, And vex their flesh with artificial sores.

1817 J. Keats On Sea 9 Oh ye! who have your eye-balls vex'd and tir'd, Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea.

1895 C. Kernahan God & Ant (ed. 4) Apol. 10 As the grain of sand, which has found its way into his shell, vexes and irks the oyster.

a1940 J. Buchan in Blackwood's Mag. (1941) Mar. 237/2 Most of his worst discomforts had gone, and only weakness vexed him and an occasional scantiness of breath.

1994 J. Barth Once upon Time 246 A minor physical problem that mildly vexed my boyhood.

1999 National Geographic Dec. 117/2 Weak lungs and recurring illnesses would vex him the rest of his life.

6. intransitive. To cause distress or trouble; to be a source of worry, unhappiness, or irritation. Also: to harass or annoy others.

ΚΠ

1614 D. Dyke Myst. Selfe-deceiuing iii. 42 The stone..so bedded in the bladder, that it cannot greatly vexe.

1680 H. More Apocalypsis Apocalypseos 87 About that time they [sc. the Turks] might not vex only as the Saracens did, but put an end to the Eastern Roman Empire.

1683 J. Shirley Compl. Courtier 19 No, thou death dealer, cruel'st of thy Sex, Thy smiles nor frowns shall neither please nor vex.

1775 R. Jephson Braganza Epil. sig. A4 The chief stateswoman of all the sex Grows nervous, if a fop or pimple vex.

1811 L.-M. Hawkins Countess & Gertrude II. xlii. 370 The countess was not always disposed to thwart and vex: a little flattery would soothe her.

1859 A. K. H. Boyd Recreat. Country Parson vi. 211 Further brooding over the subject would only vex and sting and do no good.

1888 Atlantic Reporter 14 521 It would proclaim to the evil disposed an unrestricted license to vex, harass and injure without accountability.

1931 Helena (Montana) Independent 27 Aug. 5/5 In time of stress, when problems arise to vex.

1991 ‘W. Trevor’ Reading Turgenev xxviii, in Two Lives (1992) 200 There was other evidence of the desire to vex: tea-towels hung sopping wet in the scullery when they should be hung on the line over the stove, [etc.].

II. figurative and in figurative contexts.

7. transitive. In general figurative use: to afflict, trouble, or harass (something inanimate or abstract); to distress or annoy (a thing) as if it were a person.

ΚΠ

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 309 (MED) Kynge William caused Ynglonde to be describede..where thro the londe was vexede with diverse infeccions [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. many mescheves and happes þat fil for þat drede; L. multis cladibus inde provenientibus].

1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 14 It is most certaine, that Flanders and Brabant are more vexed [It. infestate] with cold and ice then England.

1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. iii. 5 When inclement Winters vex the Plain With piercing Frosts, or thick-descending Rain.

1744 W. Collins Song Cymbeline ii, in Epist. T. Hanmer 14 No wailing Ghost shall dare appear To vex with Shrieks this quiet Grove.

1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 27 Lightning and Inundation vexed the plains.

1849 D. G. Rossetti Let. 18 Oct. (1965) I. 74 One rock-point standing buffeted alone, vexed at its base with a foul beast unknown.

1879 Scribner's Monthly Dec. 179/1 He..vexed the silence with threats and groans.

1909 J. Miller 20th Cent. Hist. Erie County, Pennsylvania I. i. vii. 57 Forgetting all, itself forgotten, it [sc. Erie] peacefully slumbered.., no sound to vex it more rude than the pounding of the billows driven upon its strand.

1983 ‘J. Kincaid’ In Night in At Bottom of River (1985) 11 The flowers..everywhere close up and thicken. The flowers are vexed.

1992 R. Advani in First Fictions Introd. 11 22 I saw him climb a Platonic ladder to a barsati from where he saw the rainy Pleiades vex a dim sea, shining out without ambiguity in the night sky.

8. transitive. To subject (a matter) to prolonged or severe examination or discussion; to debate at excessive length; (hence) to render contentious or difficult to resolve; to complicate.Cf. slightly earlier vexed adj. 4.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > controversy, dispute, argument > argue about, dispute [verb (transitive)] > make subject of argument > at length

vex1617

1617 W. B. tr. P. F. de Queirós Terra Australis Incognita 20 Neither will I vexe this paper to demonstrate vnto you, that these Countries will be able at the first aboord to nourish twentie thousand Spaniards.

a1631 J. Donne Βιαθανατος (1647) Pref. The best way to finde the truth in this matter, was to debate and vexe it.

a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 215 I shall now come to the businesse of the Divorce; so much vexed by our Writers.

a1763 J. Byrom Misc. Poems (1773) II. 32 To vex old Matters, chronicled in Greek.

1844 Cincinnati Weekly Herald 12 June 1/6 He wanted no more committees to tangle and vex the question.

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. xiii. 166 Be that as it may; and not vexing a question (settled for ever without our votes), let us own that he was, at least, a..gentleman.

1877 R. F. Burton in Athenæum 3 Nov. 569/1 Upon this point I must join issue with him, with Stanley, and with others who have vexed the subject.

1950 H. Nemerov Guide to Ruins 32 But vex not the matter with our sentiment.

2015 D. Schneider Crowded by Beauty iii. 38 Jack himself vexed the question of their historical accuracy, saying different things at different times about the verity of events in his books.

a. transitive. To disturb by causing physical movement, commotion, or alteration; to agitate, toss about, work, belabour, tear up, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > agitate [verb (transitive)]

weigha1000

dreveOE

ruska1300

commovec1374

to-stira1382

busy?c1400

tormenta1492

squalper?1527

toss1557

jumble1568

buskle1573

agitate1599

disturb1599

to work up1615

vex1627

conturbate1657

jerry-mumble1709

rejumble1755

jerrycummumble1785

reesle1903

[implied in: tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iii. l. 181 (MED) The scabby branches & the vexid [c1450 Bodl. Add. wexed; L. vexatus] rootes To cutte avay..bote is.] ].

1627 G. Hakewill Apologie ii. ix. 141 Even there where they [sc. the minerals] are most vexed and wrought vpon, yet are they not worne out.

1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 ccvii. 53 Some English Wool, vex'd in a Belgian Loom, And into Cloth of spungy softness made.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 18 And sharpen'd Shares shall vex the fruitful ground.

1759 J. Mills tr. H. L. Duhamel du Monceau Pract. Treat. Husbandry i. viii. 20 Clay... In these cases laxatives are to be prescribed,..and continually vexing it with the spade or plow.

1775 E. Burke Speech Resol. for Concil. Colonies 13 No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries.

1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna vii. vii. 159 Some calm wave Vexed into whirlpools by the chasms beneath.

1861 T. A. Trollope La Beata II. xviii. 213 Well sheltered from the blasts that even in summer vex the upper Apennine.

1879 J. D. Long tr. Virgil Æneid vii. 905 His followers they, who vex The Massic glebe, so fruitful of the vine.

1916 Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times 13 July (Noon Extra ed.) 3 Storms vex the earth.

1951 Cumberland (Maryland) Sunday Times 7 Oct. 48 Ride the winds and vex the sea until it roars in fury against the rock-bound shore.

2001 R. Katrovas Republic of Burma Shave 62 Chaos theory says a butterfly's wings may vex the currents which ultimately may vex the currents which play upon the forehead of a child who [etc.]

†b. transitive. To disturb by handling; to twist. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with the hand > touch or feel with the hand [verb (transitive)] > disturb by touching or handling

vex1673

1673 R. Leigh Transproser Rehears'd 35 He exalts his superciliums and vexes his formal beard.

†10. transitive. To insist on putting forward; to press, strain, or urge. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > distortion or perversion of meaning > pervert or distort [verb (transitive)]

crooka1340

deprave1382

pervertc1390

strainc1449

drawc1450

miswrest?a1475

bewrya1522

wry?1521

to make a Welshman's hose ofa1529

writhea1533

wrest1533

invert1534

wring?1541

depravate1548

rack1548

violent1549

wrench1549

train1551

wreathe1556

throw1558

detorta1575

shuffle1589

wriggle1593

distortc1595

to put, set, place, etc. on the rack1599

twine1600

wire-draw1610

monstrify1617

screw1628

corrupt1630

gloss1638

torture1648

force1662

vex1678

refract1700

warp1717

to put a force upon1729

twist1821

ply1988

1678 A. Marvell Remarks Late Disingenuous Disc. 51 I would not too much vex the similitude.

a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 218 Distinctions,..By b'ing too nicely overstrain'd and vext, Have made the Comment harder than the Text.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	vex
释义	vexn. Brit. /vɛks/, U.S. /vɛks/, Scottish English /vɛks/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: vex v. Etymology: < vex v. Compare earlier vexation n., vexing n. 1. Scottish. A cause or state of vexation or grief. Often modified by sair (cf. sore adj.¹ 6). Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) records this sense as still in use in various parts of Scotland in 1973. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > [noun] sorec888 teeneOE sorrowOE workOE wrakeOE careOE gramec1000 harmOE howc1000 trayOE woweOE angec1175 derfnessc1175 sytec1175 unwinc1175 wosithc1200 ail?c1225 barrat?c1225 derf?c1225 grief?c1225 misease?c1225 misliking?c1225 ofthinkingc1225 passion?c1225 troublec1230 pinec1275 distress1297 grievancea1300 penancea1300 cumbermentc1300 languorc1300 cumbering1303 were1303 angera1325 strifea1325 sweama1325 woea1325 painc1330 tribulationc1330 illa1340 threst1340 constraintc1374 troublenessc1380 afflictiona1382 bruisinga1382 miseasetya1382 pressurec1384 exercisec1386 miscomfortc1390 mislikea1400 smarta1400 thronga1400 balec1400 painfulnessc1400 troublancec1400 smartness?c1425 painliness1435 perplexity?a1439 penalty?1462 calamity1490 penality1496 cumber?a1513 sussy1513 tribule1513 afflict?1529 vexation of spirit1535 troublesomeness1561 hoe1567 grievedness1571 tribulance1575 languishment1576 thrall1578 tine1590 languorment1593 aggrievedness1594 obturbation1623 afflictedness1646 erumny1657 pathos1684 shock1705 dree1791 vex1815 wrungnessa1875 dukkha1886 thinkache1892 sufferation1976 the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > [noun] annoy?c1225 noyancec1400 vexation?a1425 crabbingc1450 annoyance1502 grudging1530 vexation of spirit1535 fret1556 fashery1558 spitea1586 gall1591 molestation1598 annoyment1607 incommodation1664 vexednessa1670 tracasserie1715 incommodement1733 frettation1779 vex1815 balls-ache1938 sterks1941 the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > [noun] > cause of annoyance or vexation thornc1230 dreicha1275 painc1375 cumbrance1377 diseasec1386 a hair in one's necka1450 molestationc1460 incommodity?a1475 melancholya1475 ensoigne1477 annoyance1502 traik1513 incommode1518 corsie1548 eyesore1548 fashery1558 cross1573 spite1577 corrosive1578 wasp1588 cumber1589 infliction1590 gall1591 distaste1602 plague1604 rub1642 disaccommodation1645 disgust1654 annoyment1659 bogle1663 rubber1699 noyancea1715 chagrins1716 ruffle1718 fasha1796 nuisance1814 vex1815 drag1857 bugbear1880 nark1918 pain in the neck (also arse, bum, etc.)1933 sod1940 chizz1953 1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 277 It was a sair vex and grief to a' her kith and kin. 1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well I. ii. 54 That is another vex to auld folks such as me. 1877 G. MacDonald Marquis of Lossie iii Her man's in a sair vex. 1881 G. MacDonald Warlock o' Glenwarlock xliii. 532 A sair vex it wad be to mony a puir body like mysel' to louse the richt til 't. 1890 J. Coghill Poems, Songs, & Sonnets 108 Ay, there's the sairest vex o' a'. a1899 D. Nicolson MS Coll. Caithness Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) VI. 345/2 He's a vex to his freens. †2. Distressing or vexing commotion. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > cause of mental pain or suffering > [noun] > distressing commotion trade1854 vex1862 the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > [noun] > instance of viretotec1386 moving?a1439 reela1450 stir1487 songa1500 pirrie1536 hurly-burly1548 make-a-do1575 confusions1599 the hunt is upa1625 ruffle1642 fuss1701 fraction1721 fizza1734 dust1753 noration1773 steeriea1776 splorea1791 rook1808 piece of work1810 curfuffle1813 squall1813 rookerya1820 stushie1824 shindy1829 shine1832 hurroosh1836 fustle1839 upsetting1847 shinty1848 ructions1862 vex1862 houp-la1870 set-out1875 hoodoo1876 tingle-tangle1880 shemozzle1885 take-on1893 dust-up1897 hoo-ha1931 tra-la-la1933 gefuffle1943 tzimmes1945 kerfuffle1946 1862 R. S. Hawker Let. 19 Sept. in C. E. Byles Life & Lett. R. S. Hawker (1905) xvii. 393 The Vex of the coming Confirmation is now great. 1867 W. R. Alger Solitudes Nature & Man iv. 412 Let trust sink into peace beneath the struggling vex of mortality. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021). vexadj. Brit. /vɛks/, U.S. /vɛks/, Caribbean English /vɛks/ Forms: 1800s– bex Brit. /bɛks/, U.S. /bɛks/, Caribbean English /bɛks/, 1800s– vex. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: vexed adj. Etymology: Representing a regional pronunciation (with elision of the final d) of vexed adj. Originally Caribbean. Later also in African-American and British Afro-Caribbean usage. Vexed; angry, annoyed. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > anger > [adjective] irrec825 gramec893 wemodc897 wrothc950 bolghenc1000 gramelyc1000 hotOE on fireOE brathc1175 moodyc1175 to-bollenc1175 wrethfulc1175 wraw?c1225 agrameda1300 wrathfula1300 agremedc1300 hastivec1300 irousa1340 wretheda1340 aniredc1350 felonc1374 angryc1380 upreareda1382 jealous1382 crousea1400 grieveda1400 irefula1400 mada1400 teena1400 wraweda1400 wretthy14.. angryc1405 errevousa1420 wrothy1422 angereda1425 passionatec1425 fumous1430 tangylc1440 heavy1452 fire angry1490 wrothsomea1529 angerful?1533 wrothful?1534 wrath1535 provoked1538 warm1547 vibrant1575 chauffe1582 fuming1582 enfeloned1596 incensed1597 choleric1598 inflameda1600 raiseda1600 exasperate1601 angried1609 exasperated1611 dispassionate1635 bristlinga1639 peltish1648 sultry1671 on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672 nangry1681 ugly1687 sorea1694 glimflashy1699 enraged1732 spunky1809 cholerous1822 kwaai1827 wrathy1828 angersome1834 outraged1836 irate1838 vex1843 raring1845 waxy1853 stiff1856 scotty1867 bristly1872 hot under the collar1879 black angry1894 spitfire1894 passionful1901 ignorant1913 hairy1914 snaky1919 steamed1923 uptight1934 broigus1937 lemony1941 ripped1941 pissed1943 crooked1945 teed off1955 ticked off1959 ripe1966 torqued1967 bummed1970 the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > [adjective] ofgrameda1200 agrameda1300 irk1303 overthoughta1325 aggrievedc1330 annoyedc1330 noyfula1387 teena1400 vexed?c1425 annoyousa1450 angry1485 noyeda1500 irked1513 engrieved1591 exulceratec1592 galled1601 incommodate1622 exulcerated1640 ruffled1659 uncommoded1683 chagrin1706 exacerbated1727 chagrineda1754 vexatious1756 discommoded1773 pipped1797 roiled1818 riled1825 outraged1836 put-out1836 vex1843 niggled1878 narked1888 hacked1892 wired1904 peeved1908 1843 J. M. Phillippo Jamaica: Past & Present State xvi. 364 Get vex wid massa fo all what him do in broking up we meetin. 1888 C. C. Jones Negro Myths 44 Buh snake..gone to him house in de swamp berry bex case de man..gone back on eh prommus. 1896 Jrnl. Amer. Folk-lore 9 122 Ratta come up, den tell him say da Puss tek it. A Nancy was mad bex. 1927 R. E. Kennedy Gritny People 101 But Gawd mus' bin vex wid me. 1941 E. Mittelholzer Corentyne Thunder xxxiii. 192 Beena get vex' an' say she na want none o' de money. 1975 T. Callender It so Happen 56 Brome used to get vex if he hear that another man even look at Maysie. 1997 ‘J. Kincaid’ My Brother 172 Me bex, you know, me bex, me no want he get me tings. 2011 Y. Edwards Cupboard Full Coats iii. 66 That woman was always vex for something. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021). vexv. Brit. /vɛks/, U.S. /vɛks/ Forms: late Middle English fexst (south-western, past participle), late Middle English vix, late Middle English wexe, late Middle English (1500s–1600s Scottish) wex, late Middle English–1600s vexe, late Middle English– vex, 1500s–1600s uex, 1500s–1600s uexe, 1900s– bex (Caribbean). N.E.D. (1916) also records the forms late Middle English uex, late Middle English wix. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French vexer. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French vexer (French vexer ) to harass (a person), to annoy (a person) (both last quarter of the 14th cent.; frequently from the early 15th cent. in legal contexts, with reference to harassing a person by legal claims or abuses of power) < classical Latin vexāre to agitate, to damage, injure, to attack constantly, harry, to devastate, ravage, to harass, distress, persecute, torment, to disturb, trouble, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to vehere to carry (see vehicle n.).Compare Old Occitan vexar (13th cent.; Occitan vexar), Catalan vexar (1375), Spanish vejar (1531 or earlier), Portuguese vexar (1589), Italian vessare (a1542), and also Middle Dutch (in late sources) vexēren (Dutch vexeeren), Middle Low German vexēren. Compare also Anglo-Norman viescer (late 11th cent.) and Old Occitan vesar (14th cent.), which probably show rare adaptations of the Latin verb into French. I. To distress, trouble, harass, worry, or annoy (a person, a group, a person's thoughts or feelings, etc.). 1. a. transitive. To trouble, afflict, or harass (a person, etc.) by aggression, encroachment, or other interference with peace and quiet; to cause damage, detriment, or difficulty to. Also with with, specifying the instrument or means by which a person is troubled, harassed, etc.Now usually with overtones of sense 2a. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > harass [verb (transitive)] tawc893 ermec897 swencheOE besetOE bestandc1000 teenOE baitc1175 grieve?c1225 war?c1225 noyc1300 pursuec1300 travailc1300 to work (also do) annoyc1300 tribula1325 worka1325 to hold wakenc1330 chase1340 twistc1374 wrap1380 cumbera1400 harrya1400 vexc1410 encumber1413 inquiet1413 molest?a1425 course1466 persecutec1475 trouble1489 sturt1513 hare1523 hag1525 hale1530 exercise1531 to grate on or upon1532 to hold or keep waking1533 infest1533 scourge1540 molestate1543 pinch1548 trounce1551 to shake upa1556 tire1558 moila1560 pester1566 importune1578 hunt1583 moider1587 bebait1589 commacerate1596 bepester1600 ferret1600 harsell1603 hurry1611 gall1614 betoil1622 weary1633 tribulatea1637 harass1656 dun1659 overharry1665 worry1671 haul1678 to plague the life out of1746 badger1782 hatchel1800 worry1811 bedevil1823 devil1823 victimize1830 frab1848 mither1848 to pester the life out of1848 haik1855 beplague1870 chevy1872 obsede1876 to get on ——1880 to load up with1880 tail-twist1898 hassle1901 heckle1920 snooter1923 hassle1945 to breathe down (the back of) (someone's) neck1946 to bust (a person's) chops1953 noodge1960 monster1967 c1410 tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 87 Þe navy of Danes..vexed [L. vexavit] þe Englische eft wiþ manyfolde desceyvynge, now robbynge, now aȝen comynge. 1426 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 7 I haue nought trespassed a-geyn noon of these iij,..and yet I am foule and noysyngly vexed with hem to my gret vnease. c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 3653 (MED) Hanybald shall..wexe ȝewe no more, but let ȝew go in pese. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Macc. viii. 32 They slewe Philarches that wicked personne, which was with Timotheus, and had vexed many Iewes. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. xvi^v It was not sufficient.., this realme to be..vexed with the craftie practices and inuencions of the Frenche men. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. clxxxiiij^v He,..to thend he might vex the Turkes in an other quarter, was fully resolued to go foreward. 1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper i. 40 So did hee vexe the Church with various and interchangeable pomp of sufferances. 1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 142 He does unjustly, and bewrayeth a disposition rather to vex other men, than to demand his own right. 1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) ii. v Then shall He in his Wrath address, And vex his baffled Enemies. 1797 C. Ludger tr. J. P. Siebenkees Life Bianca Capello 102 He..vexed the people with pecuniary extortions. 1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. iii. 169 Whom she praised to-day, Vexing his ear with acclamations loud. 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xxix. 47 With such compelling cause to grieve As daily vexes household peace. View more context for this quotation 1890 J. S. Blackie Song of Heroes iii. iii. 218 Never, While her ships might plough the main, Shall that fell respectless Titan Vex free souls with galling chain. 1915 J. London Star Rover vii. 55 Because of the struggle I had vexed them with, they laced me extra tight. 1959 P. O'Brian Unknown Shore vii. 144 We had set about to vex his nation. 1987 P. D. Nelson Life W. Alexander, Lord Stirling vii. 114 He left Anthony Wayne and William Smallwood with separate troop detachments to vex the enemy's flanks. 2010 S. J. Miller in D. W. Hayton et al. 18th-cent. Composite State vii. 190 The collectors vexed them with threats, lawsuits, and arbitrary demands. †b. transitive. To harass (a person) out of his or her possessions. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > loss > taking away > take away [verb (transitive)] > deprive (of) > by wheedling, blustering, or worrying wheedle1670 outbluster1747 vex1878 1878 R. Simpson tr. Prodigal Son iii, in R. Simpson School of Shakspere II. 103 Such openhanded fellows are not often to be found. So we must fasten on him, till we have stolen and vexed him out of all he has. 2. a. transitive. To affect with a feeling of dissatisfaction, frustration, annoyance, or irritation, now especially with trivial matters; to cause (a person) to fret or feel unhappy; to bother, upset.Now the predominant sense, and influencing others. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > be annoyed or vexed by [verb (transitive)] > annoy or vex gremec893 dretchc900 awhenec1000 teenOE fretc1290 annoyc1300 atrayc1320 encumberc1330 diseasec1340 grindc1350 distemperc1386 offenda1387 arra1400 avexa1400 derea1400 miscomforta1400 angerc1400 engrievec1400 vex1418 molesta1425 entrouble?1435 destroublea1450 poina1450 rubc1450 to wring (a person) on the mailsc1450 disprofit1483 agrea1492 trouble1515 grig1553 mis-set?1553 nip?1553 grate1555 gripe1559 spitec1563 fike?1572 gall1573 corsie1574 corrosive1581 touch1581 disaccommodate1586 macerate1588 perplex1590 thorn1592 exulcerate1593 plague1595 incommode1598 affret1600 brier1601 to gall or tread on (one's) kibes1603 discommodate1606 incommodate1611 to grate on or upon1631 disincommodate1635 shog1636 ulcerate1647 incommodiate1650 to put (a person) out of his (her, etc.) way1653 discommodiate1654 discommode1657 ruffle1659 regrate1661 disoblige1668 torment1718 pesta1729 chagrin1734 pingle1740 bothera1745 potter1747 wherrit1762 to tweak the nose of1784 to play up1803 tout1808 rasp1810 outrage1818 worrit1818 werrit1825 buggerlug1850 taigle1865 get1867 to give a person the pip1881 to get across ——1888 nark1888 eat1893 to twist the tail1895 dudgeon1906 to tweak the tail of1909 sore1929 to put up1930 wouldn't it rip you!1941 sheg1943 to dick around1944 cheese1946 to pee off1946 to honk off1970 to fuck off1973 to tweak (a person's or thing's) tail1977 to tweak (a person's or thing's) nose1983 to wind up1984 to dick about1996 to-teen- 1418 H. Chichele in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 5 (MED) It semeth to me no more to vexe ȝour Hygnesse with myche redyng. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 57 (MED) Þe forme woman Eue vexude God more þen dyd man. c1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 33 This wexit him mair nor all the troubillis that he had of befoir and [he] was the mair crabbit with him sellffe beand estemed with all men within the realme ane man of singular guid wit. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. iv. 59 Away, I say: stayest thou to vexe me here? View more context for this quotation 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. iv. 127 They vexe me past my patience. View more context for this quotation 1662 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 182 It vexes my very soul to heare how the base bumpkins triumph. 1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads i. 312 Which, angry as he is, will vexe him worse. 1714 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. c12 Oct. (1965) I. 230 Your Letter very much vex'd me. 1753 E. F. Haywood Jemmy & Jenny Jessamy II. xxviii. 268 It vex'd him a good deal, to find that the providing a place for their meeting was required of him. 1791 C. Smith Let. 17 Jan. (2003) 33 They shall be sent back, sewn in soft cloth to prevent..any injury, which would vex me extremely. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. x. viii. 106 Nothing vexes me, but that Antonia has not a thumping fortune to bring with her. 1835 Politeness & Good-breeding 28 This boy or girl..who never sneers at or jeers you, or tries to vex your feelings. 1892 Law Rep.: Weekly Notes 17 Dec. 188/1 The defendant had been maliciously making noises for the mere purpose of vexing and annoying the plaintiffs. 1950 ‘A. White’ Lost Traveller ii. ii. 94 I'm sure I never mean to vex her. But every little thing does seem to aggravate her so. 1977 Periodical 40 196 Nothing vexes me more than to go into a bookshop and find not just one price sticker on the book jacket..but sometimes two or more. 2011 S. Kelman Pigeon Eng. 97 Stop vexing your sister! b. transitive. To irritate, annoy, or tease (an animal). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > anger > irritation > irritate [verb (transitive)] gremec893 grillc897 teenOE mispay?c1225 agrillec1275 oftenec1275 tarya1300 tarc1300 atenec1320 enchafec1374 to-tarc1384 stingc1386 chafe?a1400 pokec1400 irec1420 ertc1440 rehete1447 nettlec1450 bog1546 tickle1548 touch1581 urge1593 aggravate1598 irritate1598 dishumour1600 to wind up1602 to pick at ——1603 outhumour1607 vex1625 bloody1633 efferate1653 rankle1659 spleen1689 splenetize1700 rile1724 roil1742 to put out1796 to touch (also get, catch, etc.) (a person) on the raw1823 roughen1837 acerbate1845 to stroke against the hair, the wrong way (of the hair)1846 nag1849 to rub (a person, etc.) up the wrong way1859 frump1862 rattle1865 to set up any one's bristles1873 urticate1873 needle1874 draw1876 to rough up1877 to stick pins into1879 to get on ——1880 to make (someone) tiredc1883 razoo1890 to get under a person's skin1896 to get a person's goat1905 to be on at1907 to get a person's nanny1909 cag1919 to get a person's nanny-goat1928 cagmag1932 peeve1934 tick-off1934 to get on a person's tits1945 to piss off1946 bug1947 to get up a person's nose1951 tee1955 bum1970 tick1975 the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (transitive)] > an animal in specific way vex1625 worry1807 canister1815 tail-pipe1815 1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes II. ix. vi. 1472 As they [sc. elephants] stand in the Sunne the Flyes often vex them, wherefore with their feete they make dust,..and with their Truncks cast it about their bodies to driue away the Flyes. a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1657 (1955) III. 200 Two Virginian rattle-snakes..when vexed or provoked, swiftly vibrating & shaking theire tailes. 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives V. 470 She vexed and pricked it [sc. an asp] with a golden spindle till it seized her arm. 1771 Encycl. Brit. II. 584/2 It is dangerous to let him [sc. a lion] suffer hunger long, or to vex him by ill-timed teazings. 1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. iv. 68 Vex not too far the lion, chained though he be. 1879 Boys of Eng. 24 Oct. 381/1 Are you tired of life, master, that you vex the dog thus? 1930 Scotsman 29 Sept. 12/1 His [sc. an Alsatian's] is not the kind of temperament that the most desperate criminal would seek deliberately to vex. 1997 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 24 May c12 Please do not..vex, disquiet, grate, beset, bother, tease, nettle, tantalize or ruffle the animals. 3. a. transitive. To afflict with mental agitation or trouble; to make anxious or depressed; to distress deeply or seriously; to torment with worry or despair.Now usually with weakened force, passing into sense 2a. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > be anxious about [verb (transitive)] > make anxious carkc1330 vex?a1425 solicita1450 embusy1485 to lie heavy at or to one's hearta1616 to weird out1970 to stress out1983 ?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 310 (MED) Þat feend þerfore vexeþ hym þanne of mysbileeue for to brynge hym to dispeir. a1450 (?1419–20) Friar Daw's Reply (Digby) l. 64 in P. L. Heyworth Jack Upland (1968) 75 Forwriþen serpent, þi wyles ben aspied Wiþ a þousand wrynkels þou vexes [emended in ed. to vexest] many soules. 1472 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) I. 126 (MED) Shee..hath ben vexed and trowbelyd with þe þrowes of love. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 109 I walk, I turne, sleip may I nocht, I vexit am with havie thocht. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. v. sig. Cc7^v She..Day and night did vexe her carefull thought, And euer more and more her owne affliction wrought. View more context for this quotation 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xxiv. 308 Vex not his ghost, O let him passe. View more context for this quotation 1704 L. Lillingston Refl. Mr Burchet's Mem. 32 To vex our thoughts with the Consideration of our Misfortunes. 1730 J. Thomson Spring in Seasons 19 These, and a thousand mixt emotions more,..vex the mind With endless storm. 1774 J. H. Wynne Compl. Hist. Ireland (new ed.) I. 377 As this revolt had vexed him to the heart, he resolved that the author of it should not escape his vengeance. 1806 W. Wordsworth Horn Egremont Castle 55 It was a pang that vexed him then; And oft returned, again, and yet again. 1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. viii. 154 Most of us know what it is to vex our minds because we cannot recall some name, or trivial thing, which has escaped our memory for the moment. 1880 W. Watson Prince's Quest 15 There fell a sadness on him, thus to be Vext with desire of her he might not see Yet could not choose but long for. 1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song iv. 253 And suddenly..she was calm and secure, putting Ewan from her heart, locking it up that he never could vex her again. 1992 A. Thorpe Ulverton iv. 84 I look in the glass and see how tiresome I am, poor pale thing, to vex you with my sentiments and my passions. b. transitive. Of a question, problem, subject, etc.: to present with difficulties with regard to resolution or understanding; to perplex, confound. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > confuse, perplex, bewilder [verb (transitive)] abobc1330 confusec1350 confoundc1374 cumbera1375 passc1384 maskerc1400 mopc1425 enose1430 manga1450 overmusec1460 perplex1477 maze1482 enmuse1502 ruffle?a1505 unsteady1532 entangle1540 duddle1548 intricate1548 distraught1579 distract1582 mizzle1583 moider1587 amuse1595 mist1598 bepuzzle1599 gravel1601 plunder1601 puzzle1603 intrigue1612 vexa1613 metagrobolize?a1616 befumea1618 fuddle1617 crucify1621 bumfiddlea1625 implicate1625 giddify1628 wilder1642 buzzlea1644 empuzzle1646 dunce1649 addle1652 meander1652 emberlucock1653 flounder1654 study1654 disorient1655 embarrass?1656 essome1660 embrangle1664 jumble1668 dunt1672 muse1673 clutter1685 emblustricate1693 fluster1720 disorientate1728 obfuscate1729 fickle1736 flustrate1797 unharmonize1797 mystify1806 maffle1811 boggle1835 unballast1836 stomber1841 throw1844 serpentine1850 unbalance1856 tickle1865 fog1872 bumfuzzle1878 wander1897 to put off1909 defeat1914 dither1919 befuddle1926 ungear1931 to screw up1941 a1613 E. Brerewood Enq. Langs. & Relig. (1614) vii. 55 I could produce other forceable reasons, such as might..vex the best wit in the world to giue them iust solution. 1678 P. Walsh Answer Three Treat. Jesuites Loyalty iii. 68 I should think there is an end of the story; and the tedious troublesome question, which has vext us so many years, fully resolved. 1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest II. xi. 172 The question vexed and embarrassed her, and, without answering it, she repeated her inquiry. 1871 W. Markby Elem. Law §531 No subject has vexed English judges more than the question, what remedy a debtor has for a wrongful..sale by a creditor of property which he holds as security. 1928 Sat. Rev. 28 July 115/2 The main problem to vex American judges is the question how far a man can be subjected to a medical examination by someone who is not his doctor at all. 1938 E. Waugh Scoop (1943) ii. ii. 120 Corker reverted to the topic that was vexing him. 1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 14 May a9 Commission members reached no conclusion on another question that has vexed them for months. 2015 Oxf. Mail (Nexis) 27 July (Letters section) I thought I'd share my perspective on an issue whose solution vexes most of us: NHS treatment in Oxford. 4. a. transitive (reflexive). To trouble, distress, or worry oneself; to make oneself anxious, unhappy, or irritated. Also with about, over, with. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > make oneself anxious [verb (reflexive)] vex?a1425 to fash one's thumb1786 ruck1874 ?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 118 (MED) Whi wiltow so myche laboure & vexe þisilf? c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 128 Þis preste gretlie blamyd hym for his syn,..& þis man wexid hym [= himself] gretlie and slew hym. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) John xi. f. cxxxviij He groned in his spret, and vexed hym silfe and sayde: Where have ye layed hym? 1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 61 Not to eate our heartes: That is, that wee shoulde not vexe our selues wyth thoughtes. 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. xii. 18 How will he then vexe himselfe, if we tell him that the childe is dead? View more context for this quotation a1653 H. Binning Wks. (1735) 159/1 Ye toil and vex your selves, and spend your Time about that Body and Life. 1750 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) II. 316 Lady Catherine grew frightened, lest her infanta should vex herself sick. a1779 D. Garrick Let. in Private Corr. (1832) II. 337 I must desire you not to vex yourself with unnecessary delicacy upon my account. 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl IV. iv. 102 Don't vex yourself aboot me, mamma; I warrant I've stuff enow aboot me to teak care of myself. 1832 J. J. Blunt Reformation in Eng. ii. 35 He vexes himself because he cannot make a hundred watches go by his own. 1842 tr. B. Overberg in Catholic Mag. Apr. 207 I had often quite inordinately longed for trifles, and had immoderately vexed myself over their loss. 1873 ‘Ouida’ Pascarèl I. 41 Why will you vex yourself about your father? 1930 H. Jackson Anat. Bibliomania I. xi. iii. 234 Thomas Carlyle, making an enjoyment of being annoyed at life, vexed himself with the reading of all varieties of books for recreation and condemnation. 1982 ‘E. Peters’ Virgin in Ice (1984) vii. 91 Oh, hush, hush, you mustn't vex yourself so. Lie down, you're too weak to rise. 2015 Irish Independent (Nexis) 21 Aug. 16 You have at least three months before you really need to vex yourself. b. intransitive. To feel distressed or troubled; to be unhappy or irritated; to worry, fret. Frequently with clause as complement, expressing the source of distress, worry, irritation, etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > be annoyed or vexed [verb (intransitive)] gramea1225 aruea1230 irkc1330 teena1400 it irks (me)1483 heavec1540 vex1592 chagrin1728 1592 Greenes Groats-worth of Witte sig. D A yong Gentleman,..vexing that the Sonne of a Farmer should bee so preferd, cast in his minde by what meanes..hee might steale away the Bride. 1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. viii. sig. G5 I doe sadly grieue, and inly vexe To view the base dishonors of our sexe. 1611 Tarlton's Jests (1844) 28 Tarlton..supt with the bailiffe that night, where my theamer durst not come, although he were sent for, so much he vexed at that unlookt for answer. 1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xxxiii. 412 It makes us vex if we be crossed in the least of our desires. a1672 Bp. J. Wilkins Of Princ. Nat. Relig. (1675) 257 Men usually vex and repine at that which is extraordinary and unusual. 1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 197 When they go by Water, if there proves a Head-Wind, they never vex and fret as the Europeans do. 1770 H. L. Thrale Let. 17 July in R. W. Chapman Lett. of Johnson (1952) I. 242 Mr. Thrale particularly vexes lest you should not see Matlock on a moonlight Night. 1804 C. Smith Conversations I. 137 But since it is so,..I must not vex about it. 1854 M. L. Charlesworth Ministering Children xxi. 324 All this time, while vexing over Mercy's toil,..Mrs. Smith never named the absent Molly. 1856 Cottager's Monthly Visitor Aug. 262 My good wife..takes it all like an angel, and only vexes that the other end of the village is not so handy to my work. 1883 Primitive Methodist Mag. 64 247/1 ‘Don't vex for me,’ said he, as he saw his wife in great distress. 1885 Kirke's Mill, & Other Stories 191 This was just the chance to try whether she vexed to see me in your place. 1902 A. Raine Welsh Witch xiii. 191 Don't vex about it. 1915 W. L. Williams Diary 8 Aug. in National Libr. Wales Jrnl. (Electronic text) (2008) 34 361 Mrs Lloyd George told my wife that he was vexing lest I might so far commit myself as to stop my career and chance of a judgeship. 1994 S. Deen Solving East Indian Roots v. 167 If me or mih brother Omar go, she used to vex. She used to quarrel. 2003 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 May 39/3 He believed..that this ‘latent axiom’ was the key to proving the conjecture, which he continued to vex over until his death in 1871. 5. transitive. Esp. of disease, pain, etc.: to affect with physical discomfort, distress, or suffering; to afflict. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > affect or afflict aileOE takec1300 visitc1340 troublec1400 vex?c1425 surprise1485 vizy1488 attaintc1534 heart-burn?1537 molest1559 gar1614 possess1617 misaffect1618 corrept1657 invalid1803 the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > suffer pain [verb (transitive)] > cause pain aileOE grieve?c1225 girdc1275 painc1375 putc1390 sorea1400 troublec1400 anguisha1425 vex?c1425 urn1488 suffera1500 exagitate1532 fire1602 trachle1889 ?c1425 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Royal 17 D.vi) (1897) l. 2491 (MED) Yf he be vexed with maladie, Mynystre hym helpe, his greef to remedie. c1453 (c1437) Brut (Harl. 53) 563 (MED) A sore and a fervent malady..fro day to day hym vexit til he deyed. 1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Bi ^v To endure the moost paynful crampes soo greuously vexynge her. 1535 S. Vaughan Let. Feb. in Lett. & Papers Reign Henry VIII (1885) (modernized text) VIII. 124 After the fever vexed me I was told it had taken you. ?1575 tr. H. Niclaes Terra Pacis xv. f. 28 Certen Thistles and Thornes, which do many tymes somwhat vex the Trauailer. 1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. ii. 75 The whorson Rascals have unfram'd and burst me; No limb is sound, no joynt, the smallest rustle Against my body, vexes every muscle. 1728 W. Kennett in W. Pattison Cupid's Metamorph. 309 His ill-foreboding Fears deny him Rest, And fancy'd Poxes vex his tortur'd Bones! 1746 P. Francis tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epistles i. vi. 42 Would You not wish to cure th' acuter Pains, That rack thy tortur'd Side, or vex thy Reins? 1785 W. Cowper Task i. 582 Feigning sickness oft, They swathe the forehead, drag the limping limb, And vex their flesh with artificial sores. 1817 J. Keats On Sea 9 Oh ye! who have your eye-balls vex'd and tir'd, Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea. 1895 C. Kernahan God & Ant (ed. 4) Apol. 10 As the grain of sand, which has found its way into his shell, vexes and irks the oyster. a1940 J. Buchan in Blackwood's Mag. (1941) Mar. 237/2 Most of his worst discomforts had gone, and only weakness vexed him and an occasional scantiness of breath. 1994 J. Barth Once upon Time 246 A minor physical problem that mildly vexed my boyhood. 1999 National Geographic Dec. 117/2 Weak lungs and recurring illnesses would vex him the rest of his life. 6. intransitive. To cause distress or trouble; to be a source of worry, unhappiness, or irritation. Also: to harass or annoy others. ΚΠ 1614 D. Dyke Myst. Selfe-deceiuing iii. 42 The stone..so bedded in the bladder, that it cannot greatly vexe. 1680 H. More Apocalypsis Apocalypseos 87 About that time they [sc. the Turks] might not vex only as the Saracens did, but put an end to the Eastern Roman Empire. 1683 J. Shirley Compl. Courtier 19 No, thou death dealer, cruel'st of thy Sex, Thy smiles nor frowns shall neither please nor vex. 1775 R. Jephson Braganza Epil. sig. A4 The chief stateswoman of all the sex Grows nervous, if a fop or pimple vex. 1811 L.-M. Hawkins Countess & Gertrude II. xlii. 370 The countess was not always disposed to thwart and vex: a little flattery would soothe her. 1859 A. K. H. Boyd Recreat. Country Parson vi. 211 Further brooding over the subject would only vex and sting and do no good. 1888 Atlantic Reporter 14 521 It would proclaim to the evil disposed an unrestricted license to vex, harass and injure without accountability. 1931 Helena (Montana) Independent 27 Aug. 5/5 In time of stress, when problems arise to vex. 1991 ‘W. Trevor’ Reading Turgenev xxviii, in Two Lives (1992) 200 There was other evidence of the desire to vex: tea-towels hung sopping wet in the scullery when they should be hung on the line over the stove, [etc.]. II. figurative and in figurative contexts. 7. transitive. In general figurative use: to afflict, trouble, or harass (something inanimate or abstract); to distress or annoy (a thing) as if it were a person. ΚΠ ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 309 (MED) Kynge William caused Ynglonde to be describede..where thro the londe was vexede with diverse infeccions [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. many mescheves and happes þat fil for þat drede; L. multis cladibus inde provenientibus]. 1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 14 It is most certaine, that Flanders and Brabant are more vexed [It. infestate] with cold and ice then England. 1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. iii. 5 When inclement Winters vex the Plain With piercing Frosts, or thick-descending Rain. 1744 W. Collins Song Cymbeline ii, in Epist. T. Hanmer 14 No wailing Ghost shall dare appear To vex with Shrieks this quiet Grove. 1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 27 Lightning and Inundation vexed the plains. 1849 D. G. Rossetti Let. 18 Oct. (1965) I. 74 One rock-point standing buffeted alone, vexed at its base with a foul beast unknown. 1879 Scribner's Monthly Dec. 179/1 He..vexed the silence with threats and groans. 1909 J. Miller 20th Cent. Hist. Erie County, Pennsylvania I. i. vii. 57 Forgetting all, itself forgotten, it [sc. Erie] peacefully slumbered.., no sound to vex it more rude than the pounding of the billows driven upon its strand. 1983 ‘J. Kincaid’ In Night in At Bottom of River (1985) 11 The flowers..everywhere close up and thicken. The flowers are vexed. 1992 R. Advani in First Fictions Introd. 11 22 I saw him climb a Platonic ladder to a barsati from where he saw the rainy Pleiades vex a dim sea, shining out without ambiguity in the night sky. 8. transitive. To subject (a matter) to prolonged or severe examination or discussion; to debate at excessive length; (hence) to render contentious or difficult to resolve; to complicate.Cf. slightly earlier vexed adj. 4. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > controversy, dispute, argument > argue about, dispute [verb (transitive)] > make subject of argument > at length vex1617 1617 W. B. tr. P. F. de Queirós Terra Australis Incognita 20 Neither will I vexe this paper to demonstrate vnto you, that these Countries will be able at the first aboord to nourish twentie thousand Spaniards. a1631 J. Donne Βιαθανατος (1647) Pref. The best way to finde the truth in this matter, was to debate and vexe it. a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 215 I shall now come to the businesse of the Divorce; so much vexed by our Writers. a1763 J. Byrom Misc. Poems (1773) II. 32 To vex old Matters, chronicled in Greek. 1844 Cincinnati Weekly Herald 12 June 1/6 He wanted no more committees to tangle and vex the question. 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. xiii. 166 Be that as it may; and not vexing a question (settled for ever without our votes), let us own that he was, at least, a..gentleman. 1877 R. F. Burton in Athenæum 3 Nov. 569/1 Upon this point I must join issue with him, with Stanley, and with others who have vexed the subject. 1950 H. Nemerov Guide to Ruins 32 But vex not the matter with our sentiment. 2015 D. Schneider Crowded by Beauty iii. 38 Jack himself vexed the question of their historical accuracy, saying different things at different times about the verity of events in his books. 9. a. transitive. To disturb by causing physical movement, commotion, or alteration; to agitate, toss about, work, belabour, tear up, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > agitate [verb (transitive)] weigha1000 dreveOE ruska1300 commovec1374 to-stira1382 busy?c1400 tormenta1492 squalper?1527 toss1557 jumble1568 buskle1573 agitate1599 disturb1599 to work up1615 vex1627 conturbate1657 jerry-mumble1709 rejumble1755 jerrycummumble1785 reesle1903 [implied in: tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iii. l. 181 (MED) The scabby branches & the vexid [c1450 Bodl. Add. wexed; L. vexatus] rootes To cutte avay..bote is.] ]. 1627 G. Hakewill Apologie ii. ix. 141 Even there where they [sc. the minerals] are most vexed and wrought vpon, yet are they not worne out. 1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 ccvii. 53 Some English Wool, vex'd in a Belgian Loom, And into Cloth of spungy softness made. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 18 And sharpen'd Shares shall vex the fruitful ground. 1759 J. Mills tr. H. L. Duhamel du Monceau Pract. Treat. Husbandry i. viii. 20 Clay... In these cases laxatives are to be prescribed,..and continually vexing it with the spade or plow. 1775 E. Burke Speech Resol. for Concil. Colonies 13 No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna vii. vii. 159 Some calm wave Vexed into whirlpools by the chasms beneath. 1861 T. A. Trollope La Beata II. xviii. 213 Well sheltered from the blasts that even in summer vex the upper Apennine. 1879 J. D. Long tr. Virgil Æneid vii. 905 His followers they, who vex The Massic glebe, so fruitful of the vine. 1916 Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times 13 July (Noon Extra ed.) 3 Storms vex the earth. 1951 Cumberland (Maryland) Sunday Times 7 Oct. 48 Ride the winds and vex the sea until it roars in fury against the rock-bound shore. 2001 R. Katrovas Republic of Burma Shave 62 Chaos theory says a butterfly's wings may vex the currents which ultimately may vex the currents which play upon the forehead of a child who [etc.] †b. transitive. To disturb by handling; to twist. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with the hand > touch or feel with the hand [verb (transitive)] > disturb by touching or handling vex1673 1673 R. Leigh Transproser Rehears'd 35 He exalts his superciliums and vexes his formal beard. †10. transitive. To insist on putting forward; to press, strain, or urge. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > distortion or perversion of meaning > pervert or distort [verb (transitive)] crooka1340 deprave1382 pervertc1390 strainc1449 drawc1450 miswrest?a1475 bewrya1522 wry?1521 to make a Welshman's hose ofa1529 writhea1533 wrest1533 invert1534 wring?1541 depravate1548 rack1548 violent1549 wrench1549 train1551 wreathe1556 throw1558 detorta1575 shuffle1589 wriggle1593 distortc1595 to put, set, place, etc. on the rack1599 twine1600 wire-draw1610 monstrify1617 screw1628 corrupt1630 gloss1638 torture1648 force1662 vex1678 refract1700 warp1717 to put a force upon1729 twist1821 ply1988 1678 A. Marvell Remarks Late Disingenuous Disc. 51 I would not too much vex the similitude. a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 218 Distinctions,..By b'ing too nicely overstrain'd and vext, Have made the Comment harder than the Text. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.1815adj.1843v.c1410
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vexn.

vexadj.

vexv.