How to Use vex in a Sentence

vex

verb
  • We were vexed by the delay.
  • This problem has vexed researchers for years.
  • The question seemed to vex the many passers-by who stopped to gape.
    — Priya Krishna, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
  • The case had vexed the FBI for years.
    — Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025
  • Judge is not the first athlete to be vexed by the challenge.
    — Rustin Dodd, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Cassidy, vexed with himself and with her, isn’t strong enough to catch her in his arms.
    — Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Dinner has been vexing people for a very long time.
    — Rafaela Jinich, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Mostly, though, Brown’s salve for what vexed his fans aimed for the hips, not the head.
    — Renée Graham, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Apr. 2018
  • As with last week's icy mix, the overnight snowfall vexed drivers across the region.
    — Mike Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 18 Jan. 2020
  • Steven Brill agrees that the country’s in bad shape and its people are vexed by it.
    — Barton Swaim, WSJ, 15 June 2018
  • He gets equally vexed on behalf of a friend’s movie, a rival’s movie, any movie.
    — Joanne Kaufman, wsj.com, 4 May 2023
  • The question about who gets to decide on the limits to this access is vexed.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Lawmakers have been vexed for decades over how to fix a broken system.
    — Tom Benning, Dallas News, 20 June 2019
  • No one wants to hear that there's no solution to the problem that vexes them.
    — Sara Chodosh, Popular Science, 30 Dec. 2019
  • The question of where Izzy would attend school had been vexing me for two years.
    — Julie Kim, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2023
  • That question has vexed even many of the most ardent climate-change activists.
    — oregonlive.com, 9 July 2019
  • With so many health concerns vexing the new year, this one’s quick, easy, and cheap to cross off your worry list.
    — Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 6 Feb. 2024
  • Yet, food companies have been dealing with many of the same price hikes that have vexed their customers.
    — Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2024
  • Matt Barnes, charged with the blown save and loss on Wednesday, was vexed by his poor outing.
    — Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2019
  • The finding could be a breakthrough in a mystery that has vexed scientists for years.
    — The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 22 Oct. 2017
  • If you’ve been vexed by the situation with @motel6 in Phoenix.
    — Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2017
  • His friends defend the president, and point to the legal troubles that vex him.
    — Christi Parsons, latimes.com, 8 Mar. 2018
  • And that’s the one thing that vexed Adelman and the Denver locker room.
    — Tony Jones, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
  • As impressive as Murray was, he was vexed at the foul line just as much as his teammates.
    — Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 27 Jan. 2024
  • The question of who hired the firm has vexed Facebook employees.
    — Deepa Seetharaman, WSJ, 20 Nov. 2018
  • The biggest hurdle might be achieving her larger-than-life hair that has vexed fans and media alike.
    — Chiara Kim, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024
  • Other fans have dived from nearby piers and swum to the back of the set, vexing gate guards charged with keeping them at bay.
    — Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 30 July 2023
  • Of course, the genre dictates that a seemingly sure thing be vexed, and this rom-com is no different.
    — Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Four of those have come against the Cavs, who have designed a defense that continues to vex him.
    — Chris Fedor, cleveland.com, 6 May 2018
  • The House will return from a holiday break to face sagas that have vexed the chamber for months.
    — Emily Brooks, The Hill, 4 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vex.' 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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