vex

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To annoy, as with petty importunities; bother. See Synonyms at annoy.
2. v. To cause perplexity in; puzzle.
3. v. To bring distress or suffering to; plague or afflict.
4. v. To debate or discuss (a question, for example) at length.
5. v. To toss about or shake up.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To make angry by little provocations; excite slight anger or displeasure in; trouble by petty or light annoyances; irritate; tease; fret; plague; annoy; harass.
2. To make sorrowful; grieve; afflict; distress.
3. To agitate; disturb; overturn or throw into commotion; hence, to dispute; contest; cause to be discussed: in this sense chiefly used in the past participle: as, a vexed (much discussed but unsettled) question.
4. Synonyms Annoy, Plague, etc. (see tease), provoke, gall, chafe. To disquiet.
5. To fret; be teased or irritated; feel annoyed, angry, or distressed.
6. n. A trouble; a vexation.

Wiktionary

1. v. transitive To trouble aggressively, to harass.
2. v. transitive To annoy, irritate.
3. v. transitive To cause (mental) suffering to; to distress.
4. v. transitive, rare To twist, to weave.
5. v. intransitive, obsolete To be irritated; to fret.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet.
2. v. To make angry or annoyed by little provocations; to irritate; to plague; to torment; to harass; to afflict; to trouble; to tease.
3. v. rare To twist; to weave.
4. v. rare To be irritated; to fret.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress
2. v. subject to prolonged examination, discussion, or deliberation
3. v. cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
4. v. change the arrangement or position of
5. v. be a mystery or bewildering to