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Vex vs Upset - What's the difference?

vex | upset |

In transitive terms the difference between vex and upset

is that vex is to toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet while upset is to defeat unexpectedly.

As verbs the difference between vex and upset

is that vex is to trouble aggressively, to harass while upset is to make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy.

As nouns the difference between vex and upset

is that vex is initialism of w:Venus Express|Venus Express|lang=en while upset is disturbance or disruption.

As an adjective upset is

angry, distressed, or unhappy.

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.

    Synonyms

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

    Derived terms

    * vexed * vexer * vexingly * vexation * vexatious

    upset

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (of a person) Angry, distressed or unhappy.
  • He was upset when she refused his friendship.
    My children often get upset with their classmates.
  • Feeling unwell, nauseated, or ready to vomit.
  • His stomach was upset , so he didn't want to move.

    Synonyms

    * See'' angry, distressed ''and unhappy ** in a tizzy

    Derived terms

    * upset price

    Noun

  • (uncountable) Disturbance or disruption.
  • My late arrival caused the professor considerable upset .
  • (countable, sports) An unexpected victory of a competitor that was not favored.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=January 8 , author=Paul Fletcher , title=Stevenage 3 - 1 Newcastle , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=But it is probably the biggest upset for the away side since Ronnie Radford smashed a famous goal as Hereford defeated Newcastle 2-1 in 1972.}}
  • (automobile insurance) An overturn.
  • "collision and upset ": impact with another object or an overturn for whatever reason.
  • An stomach.
  • * 1958 May 12, advertisement, Life , volume 44, number 19, page 110 [http://books.google.com/books?id=vFMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA110&dq=pepto]:
  • "Bob, let's cancel the babysitter. With this upset stomach, I can't go out tonight.
    "Try Pepto-Bismol. Hospital tests prove it relieves upsets . And it's great for indigestion or nausea, too!"
  • (mathematics) An upper set; a subset (X,?) of a partially ordered set with the property that, if x is in U and x?y, then y is in U.
  • Synonyms

    * (sense) disruption, disturbance * (unexpected victory of a competitor)

    Verb

  • To make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy.
  • I’m sure the bad news will upset him, but he needs to know.
  • To disturb, disrupt or adversely alter (something).
  • Introducing a foreign species can upset the ecological balance.
    The fatty meat upset his stomach.
  • To tip or overturn (something).
  • * 1924 , W. D. Ross translator, , Book 1, Part 9, The Classical Library, Nashotah, Wisconsin, 2001.
  • But this argument, which first Anaxagoras and later Eudoxus and certain others used, is very easily upset ; for it is not difficult to collect many insuperable objections to such a view.
  • To defeat unexpectedly.
  • ''Truman upset Dewey in the 1948 US presidential election.
  • To be upset or knocked over.
  • The carriage upset when the horse bolted.
  • (obsolete) To set up; to put upright.
  • * R. of Brunne
  • with sail on mast upset
  • To thicken and shorten, as a heated piece of iron, by hammering on the end.
  • To shorten (a tire) in the process of resetting, originally by cutting it and hammering on the ends.
  • Synonyms

    * (make (a person) angry, distressed or unhappy''): ''See'' anger, distress ''and sadden * disrupt, disturb, turn upside down * (sense) invert, overturn, tip, tip over, tip up, turn over, turn upside down

    Derived terms

    * upset the applecart * upset the natives