How to Use vexation in a Sentence

vexation

noun
  • The owners tend to be torn between a deep sense of pride and a constant vexation.
    Washington Post, 23 June 2021
  • People who have lost their jobs have lost honor and vexation at once.
    Ai Weiwei, The Atlantic, 2 June 2020
  • The girl narrowed her eyes, whether in confusion or vexation, Bev wasn’t sure.
    J. Robert Lennon, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2019
  • And naturally, all this vexation just might be blocking the path to love.
    Washington Post, 12 May 2021
  • Fishing rights have been a growing point of vexation between Britain and the European Union since Britons voted to leave the bloc in 2016.
    Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2021
  • Part of the enduring fascination of his life — also the vexation — is trying to square the two.
    BostonGlobe.com, 31 Mar. 2021
  • There are three stages of erotomania: hope, vexation, and grudge, says Faden.
    Naydeline Mejia, Women's Health, 9 Mar. 2023
  • But the news that the services of hangmen are no longer needed attracts fresh faces to the pub, including a mod young stranger from London with a gift for vexation.
    Dan Barry, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2020
  • The appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel in the Trump-Russia matter will spell vexation in the medium term and may spell danger in the long term.
    David Frum, The Atlantic, 18 May 2017
  • The exchange, in a Maryland murder case in which both families knew well the vexations of mental-health struggles, laid bare a shared pain.
    Dan Morse, Washington Post, 26 July 2017
  • And this spluttering vexation is comical coming from a man who is veritably the L. Ron Hubbard of the Churchill cult.
    Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New Republic, 14 Oct. 2021
  • In essence, this is the character Eggers introduces us to — the Rupert bear version of Alkhanshali, agreeable to the hilt, whose strongest emotion appears to be mild vexation.
    Parul Sehgal, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2018
  • While leagues like the NBA have made the national protests a vocal and constant point of emphasis — to the applause of some fans and the vexation of others — attention Saturday will likely be on the race itself.
    Hayes Gardner, The Courier-Journal, 4 Sep. 2020
  • He was also alerted to the challenges of moon travel, and even expressed a slight vexation that divine providence did not endow the human body with any natural means of flying.
    Maria Avxentevskaya, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2017
  • Sougwen Chung looks down at her silent, stubborn collaborator with a mix of affection and mild vexation.
    Sarah L. Kaufman, Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2020
  • While the smaller California sea lions threaten the extinction of the Willamette Valley's wild winter steelhead runs, the Steller's pose an even greater vexation for sturgeon managers.
    Bill Monroe, OregonLive.com, 24 Jan. 2018
  • Much of her vexation was directed at Jeffrey Wertkin, one of the Justice Department’s top picks for difficult fraud assignments.
    Ava Kofman, ProPublica, 28 Nov. 2022
  • This leads to her vexation over Edward’s single-minded concern for Elizabeth.
    Washington Post, 6 June 2019
  • Why does this fashion vexation afflict so many women, including those with bursting armoires?
    Ann Binlot, wsj.com, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Meanwhile, at the Capitol, multiple Democrats piled on with expressions of surprise and vexation at Manchin’s seemingly sudden change of position.
    Grace Segers, The New Republic, 16 Dec. 2021
  • As one of the leading mainstream journalists investigating the phenomenon over the past 20-plus years, Leslie Kean shares this enduring vexation.
    Popular Mechanics, 25 Apr. 2023
  • Yup, that burning vexation gets replaced with satisfaction and a deep feeling of accomplishment.
    Amy Eisinger, M.a., SELF, 2 Dec. 2022
  • High-tech and health-care companies have a disproportionate number of foreign workers on their payrolls, and immigrants also are overrepresented on the welfare rolls, to the dismay and vexation of many natives.
    Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
  • Media observers have often repeated this quotation with vexation and alarm, but the events of Donnygate reveal a more insidious reality behind the statement.
    vanityfair.com, 11 July 2017
  • Mission models have been a mainstay of California elementary education for decades, becoming a source of both nostalgia and vexation to parents.
    Deborah Sullivan Brennan, sandiegouniontribune.com, 15 Sep. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vexation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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