vexed

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /vɛkst/ UK /vɛkst/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
annoyed or irritated; difficult and much debated

The vexed question of land rights divided the village for decades.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · annoyed or irritated;... annoyed irritated irked exasperated disputed contested

Opposites

pleased calm settled contented

Word family

Related forms vex vexation vexatious

Etymology

Past participle of 'vex', from Old French 'vexer', from Latin 'vexare' ('to shake, harass'). The 'much-debated' sense reflects an issue that troubles or agitates.

vexare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# vexed

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

## Meanings
1. annoyed or irritated; difficult and much debated

## Examples
- The vexed question of land rights divided the village for decades.

## Synonyms
- annoyed
- irritated
- irked
- exasperated
- disputed
- contested

## Antonyms
- pleased
- calm
- settled
- contented

## Related Forms
- vex
- vexation
- vexatious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vexare

## Etymology
Past participle of 'vex', from Old French 'vexer', from Latin 'vexare' ('to shake, harass'). The 'much-debated' sense reflects an issue that troubles or agitates.

## AI Etymology
Vexed is the past participle of 'vex', from Old French 'vexer', from Latin 'vexare' ('to shake, harass'). The 'much-debated' sense reflects an issue that troubles or agitates. In current use it is an adjective meaning "annoyed or irritated; difficult and much debated". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. A central historical form is Latin vexare. Related English forms include vex, vexation, and vexatious. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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