Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of troubling or annoying someone: The action of causing someone to feel irritated or bothered.
   • A state of being irritated or annoyed: The psychological feeling of being bothered, frustrated, or mildly angry.
   • A source of annoyance or worry: Something or someone that causes anxiety, trouble, or unhappiness.
   • Anger produced by irritation: A feeling of anger that arises from a persistent minor annoyance.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The constant noise from the construction site was a great vexation to the residents. (The noise was a source of annoyance.)
  • She sighed in vexation when she realized she had forgotten her keys again. (She sighed with a feeling of irritation.)
  • The new policy caused much vexation among the employees. (The policy caused a state of annoyance among them.)
  • Dealing with bureaucratic delays is a familiar vexation. (Bureaucratic delays are a familiar source of trouble.)

Advanced Usage

• "To one's vexation": Causing someone to feel annoyed or frustrated.
  • To his vexation, the train was delayed for an hour. (He was annoyed because the train was delayed.)
• "A vexation of spirit": A profound or wearying annoyance (a somewhat literary phrase).
  • The endless paperwork was a vexation of spirit. (The paperwork was a deeply frustrating annoyance.)

Variants and Related Words

• Vex (verb): To annoy, worry, or frustrate someone.
  • The complicated instructions vexed the new users.
• Vexing (adjective): Causing annoyance or frustration.
  • It was a vexing problem with no easy solution.
• Vexatious (adjective): Causing or tending to cause annoyance, frustration, or worry.
  • The lawsuit was dismissed as vexatious litigation.

Synonyms

• Annoyance: The feeling or the cause of being slightly angry.
• Irritation: The state of being annoyed or impatient.
• Bother: Something that causes trouble or minor annoyance.
• Frustration: The feeling of being upset or annoyed due to inability to change or achieve something.
• Chagrin: Distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated.

Antonyms

• Pleasure: A feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.
• Delight: Great pleasure.
• Comfort: A state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• A thorn in one's side: A persistent source of annoyance.
  • The malfunctioning printer was a thorn in her side all week.
• To add insult to injury: To make a bad situation worse, often in a way that is annoying or unfair.
  • To add insult to injury, they charged him a late fee.

Noun

1. the act of troubling or annoying someone
2. something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness
   • New York traffic is a constant concern
   • it's a major worry
3. the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed
4. anger produced by some annoying irritation