vexatious

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /vɛkˈseɪʃəs/ UK /vɛkˈseɪʃəs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
causing annoyance, frustration, or worry

The committee was bogged down by a vexatious dispute over procedure.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · causing annoyance,... annoying irritating irksome troublesome exasperating bothersome

Opposites

soothing pleasing calming agreeable

Word family

Derived forms vexatiouslyvexatiousness

Related forms vex vexation vexed

Etymology

From 'vexation' + '-ous', or from Latin 'vexare' ('to harass') via 'vexatio'. Ultimately from Latin 'vexare' ('to shake, agitate, harass').

vexatio Latin vexare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# vexatious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** vɛkˈseɪʃəs
**IPA (UK):** vɛkˈseɪʃəs

## Meanings
1. causing annoyance, frustration, or worry

## Examples
- The committee was bogged down by a vexatious dispute over procedure.

## Synonyms
- annoying
- irritating
- irksome
- troublesome
- exasperating
- bothersome

## Antonyms
- soothing
- pleasing
- calming
- agreeable

## Derived Forms
- vexatiously
- vexatiousness

## Related Forms
- vex
- vexation
- vexed

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vexatio
- Root: vexare

## Etymology
From 'vexation' + '-ous', or from Latin 'vexare' ('to harass') via 'vexatio'. Ultimately from Latin 'vexare' ('to shake, agitate, harass').

## AI Etymology
Vexatious comes from 'vexation' + '-ous', or from Latin 'vexare' ('to harass') via 'vexatio'. Ultimately from Latin 'vexare' ('to shake, agitate, harass'). The historical chain includes Latin vexatio and Latin vexare. The quoted older senses, "vexation", "-ous", "vexare", "to harass", and "vexatio", supply the semantic anchors for vexatious. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word vexatious carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "causing annoyance, frustration, or worry". English derivatives include vexatiously and vexatiousness; related English forms include vex, vexation, and vexed. The result is a adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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