# vexation

> English word · Noun · IPA /vɛkˈseɪʃn̩/ · frequency rank #97,682

## Definitions
1. The action of vexing, annoying, or irritating someone or something; (countable) an instance of this.
2. The action of vexing, annoying, or irritating someone or something; (countable) an instance of this.
3. The action of vexing, annoying, or irritating someone or something; (countable) an instance of this.
4. The state of being vexed, annoyed, or irritated; annoyance, irritation; also, disappointment, discontentment, unhappiness; (countable) an instance of this.
5. The state of being vexed, annoyed, or irritated; annoyance, irritation; also, disappointment, discontentment, unhappiness; (countable) an instance of this.
6. The state of being vexed, annoyed, or irritated; annoyance, irritation; also, disappointment, discontentment, unhappiness; (countable) an instance of this.
7. A source of mental distress or trouble; an affliction, a woe; also, a source of annoyance or irritation; an annoyance, an irritant.
8. The action of using force or violence on someone or something; (countable) an instance of this.

## Etymology
From Late Middle English vexacioun, vexation (“physical suffering; act of inflicting trouble (specifically through unjustified legal action); anxiety, mental distress; mental disturbance”), from Anglo-Norman vexacion, vexation, Middle French vexacion, vexation (“distress, suffering; harassment (specifically through unjustified legal action)”), and Old French vexacion, vexation (“distress, suffering; harassment”) (modern French vexation), and from their etymon Latin vexātiō (“shaking or similar violent movement; (causing of) agitation, distress, suffering; harassment, persecution; trouble”), from vexātus + -iō (suffix forming abstract nouns from verbs). Vexātus is the perfect passive participle of vexō (“to shake or jolt violently; to annoy, harass; to persecute; to trouble violently”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-. By surface analysis, vex + -ation (suffix denoting an action or process or its result, or a quality or state). Doublet of quake.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/vexation