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Vex vs Bedevil - What's the difference?

vex | bedevil |

As a noun vex

is (space|esa).

As a verb bedevil is

to harass or cause trouble for; to plague.

vex

English

Verb

(es)
  • To trouble aggressively, to harass.
  • * 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Acts XII:
    • In that tyme Herode the kynge layed hondes on certayne of the congregacion, to vexe them.
  • To annoy, irritate.
    • Billy's professor was vexed by his continued failure to improve his grades.
  • To cause (mental) suffering to; to distress.
  • (rare) To twist, to weave.
  • * Dryden
    • some English wool, vexed in a Belgian loom
  • (obsolete) To be irritated; to fret.
    • (Chapman)
  • To toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet.
  • * Alexander Pope
    • White curl the waves, and the vexed ocean roars.

    Quotations

    * (English Citations of "vex")

    Synonyms

    * (to annoy) agitate, irritate * (to cause mental suffering) afflict, torment

    Derived terms

    * vexed * vexer * vexingly * vexation * vexatious

    bedevil

    English

    Verb

  • To harass or cause trouble for; to plague.
    • Guerrilla attacks continued to bedevil the larger army's supply routes.
  • To perplex or bewilder.

    • Usage notes

    * The spellings bedeviling'' and ''bedeviled'' are preferred in the US, while ''bedevilling'' and ''bedevilled are preferred in the UK. However, the choice of spellings is not universal.