annoy implies a wearing on the nerves by persistent petty unpleasantness.
their constant complaining annoys us
vex implies greater provocation and stronger disturbance and usually connotes anger but sometimes perplexity or anxiety.
vexed by her son's failure to clean his room
irk stresses difficulty in enduring and the resulting weariness or impatience of spirit.
careless waste irks the boss
bother suggests interference with comfort or peace of mind.
don't bother me while I'm reading
Examples of vex in a Sentence
This problem has vexed researchers for years.
We were vexed by the delay.
Recent Examples on the WebThe book also expands and updates the Memoriam rules to allow immortal vampires a chance to flashback to history to solve problems that vex them tonight.—Rob Wieland, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024 The biggest hurdle might be achieving her larger-than-life hair that has vexed fans and media alike.—Chiara Kim, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024 This, in turn, caused people to desert the label in droves, furious that a streaming service had the power to dictate who got popular or vexed that new artists making emo rap and other genre-fusions were included.—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Oct. 2024 Nearly a century ago, the physicist Erwin Schrödinger called attention to a quirk of the quantum world that has fascinated and vexed researchers ever since.—Ben Brubaker, WIRED, 22 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for vex
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vex.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French vexer, from Latin vexare to agitate, harry; probably akin to Latin vehere to convey — more at way
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