vexed

adjective

\ ˈvekst

Definition of vexed

: affected with, marked by, or causing trouble or vexation: such as

a : feeling or showing irritation, annoyance, or distress He had a vexed look, as if irritated at having to direct yet another … lost tourist to more celebrated Washington landmarks.— Larry L. King … I plainly perceived him to be extremely vexed at me …— Herman Melville

b : difficult and often frustrating to understand or deal with a vexed question Merchants such as the Polos sought to circumvent the vexed system of coins, with its inevitable confusion and debasement, by trading in gems such as rubies and sapphires and in pearls.— Laurence Bergreen But the coming months—when America will have to vote for or against China in matters of trade, proliferation and human rights—will severely test the White House's ability to manage a perpetually vexed relationship.— Tom Post

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Examples of vexed in a Sentence

She was feeling somewhat vexed. my dog was clearly vexed with me for having been gone all week, and hardly greeted me when I came home

Recent Examples on the Web

For a publication about technology, WIRED has sometimes had a vexed relationship to the web. — Wired, "Why Wired.com Looks Different Today," 28 Aug. 2019 His book is a handy introduction to a vexed debate on the infinite power of the finite mortal mind. — The Economist, "A new book spells out the magic of language," 22 Aug. 2019 Chapman was staring down an issue that’s vexed hundreds of policymakers before him: America’s beguiling network of messy fireworks laws, which seems to mutate and contradict itself every day. — Luke Winkie, Vox, "Anime brings in more than $19 billion a year. Its artists are earning barely enough to survive.," 2 July 2019 Three years after a large influx of migrants and asylum seekers, the vexed issue of migration has become a popular populist issue and threatens to topple the long reign of Europe’s most prominent leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. — Steven Erlanger, New York Times, "Germany and Italy at Odds on Migration Crisis After Meeting," 24 June 2018 More Stories Dennis-Benn’s second novel, Patsy, sets out to challenge Delores’s warning, and in forcefully simple prose reveals just how vexed that quest is. — Adrienne Green, The Atlantic, "The Costs of Going After Love," 7 June 2019 But over the past decade that trade-off has rarely been a vexed choice, because inflationary pressure has stayed oddly low. — The Economist, "For how long can today’s global economic expansion last?," 12 July 2019 Should the bill one day materialize, the composition of Tubman and Jackson, two faces of the same vexed coin, would serve as an apt emblem of Americans’ habit of historical equivocation. — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, "The Haunted Image of Harriet Tubman on the Twenty-Dollar Bill," 18 June 2019 In his notes from the meeting, Suslov seems vexed: Your novel will serve only to benefit our enemies. . . — Aaron Lake Smith, Harper's magazine, "The Trials of Vasily Grossman," 24 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vexed.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for vexed

vexed

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of vexed

: difficult and frustrating to deal with

old-fashioned : annoyed or worried

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vexed

Definition of vexed

Synonyms for vexed

Examples of vexed in a Sentence

First Known Use of vexed

English Language Learners Definition of vexed

vexed

Definition of vexed

Synonyms for vexed

Examples of vexed in a Sentence

First Known Use of vexed

English Language Learners Definition of vexed

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