vexatious

adjective

vex·​a·​tious vek-ˈsā-shəs 

1

a

: causing vexation : distressing

vexatious delays

b

: intended to harass

a vexatious lawsuit

2

: full of disorder or stress : troubled

a vexatious period in her life

vexatiously adverb

vexatiousness noun

Synonyms

• abrasive
• aggravating
• annoying
• bothersome
• carking
• chafing
• disturbing
• exasperating
• frustrating
• galling
• irksome
• irritating
• maddening
• nettlesome
• nettling
• peeving
• pesky
• pestiferous
• pestilent
• pestilential
• pesty
• plaguey
• plaguy
• rankling
• rebarbative
• riling
• vexing

Examples of vexatious in a Sentence

those vexatious phone calls from telemarketers during the dinner hour

Recent Examples on the Web

Since taking office some 100 days ago Keir Starmer’s government has faltered, derailed by the challenge of race riots, minor, vexatious scandals over gifts to Labour ministers and the sheer magnitude of the task of turning around the UK economy. —Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024

Charting Germany’s shifting relations with the great powers has been Merkel’s most vexatious challenge of all. —Constanze Stelzenmüller, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2021

But what used to be a vexatious burden is now a source of daily torment. —Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 4 Mar. 2024

Belarus sits like a large ellipsis at the center of Europe, an authoritarian puzzle to much of the outside world, worrying to its immediate neighbors, and a vexatious ally to Russia. —Andrew Wilson, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

vexatious

adjective

vex·​a·​tious vek-ˈsā-shəs 

: causing vexation : annoying, distressing

vexatious delays

vexatiously adverb

vexatiousness noun

Legal Definition

vexatious

adjective

vex·​a·​tious vek-ˈsā-shəs 

: lacking a sufficient ground and serving only to annoy or harass when viewed objectively

disciplined the attorney for engaging in vexatious litigation