vexation

noun

1. (uncountable)The action of vexing, annoying, or irritating someone or something; (countable) an instance of this.

   “[…] I mourne in my prayer, and make a noiſe, / For the voyce of the enemie, & for the vexation of the vvicked, becauſe they haue broght iniquitie vpon me, & furiouſly hate me.”

   “I ſtill had hopes, my long vexations paſt, / Here to return—and die at home at laſt.”

2. (uncountable)The action of vexing, annoying, or irritating someone or something; (countable) an instance of this.

   “And, gentle Puck, take this transformed ſcalpe, / From the heade of this Athenian ſvvaine [Nick Bottom]; / That hee, avvaking vvhen the other do, / May all to Athens backe againe repaire, / And thinke no more of this nights accidents, / But as the fearce vexation of a dreame.”

   “O Rome, in vvhat a ſickneſſe art thou fall'n! / Hovv dangerous, and deadly! vvhen thy head / Is drovvn'd in ſleepe, and all thy body feu'ry! / No noiſe, no pulling, no vexation vvakes thee, […]”

3. (uncountable)The action of vexing, annoying, or irritating someone or something; (countable) an instance of this.
4. (uncountable)The state of being vexed, annoyed, or irritated; annoyance, irritation; also, disappointment, discontentment, unhappiness; (countable) an instance of this.

   “"Indeed you perplex me intolerably;" cried Cecilia, vvith ſome vexation, "VVhy, Sir, vvill you not be more explicit?"”

   “All was safe and prosperous; and as the removal of one solicitude generally makes way for another, Emma, being now certain of her ball, began to adopt as the next vexation Mr. Knightley's provoking indifference about it.”

   “[…] I spoke of the constant vexation I suffered because I could not draw better.”

   “He clenched his fists in vexation and looked up at her impetuously.”

   “He gave the doctor a look of vexation. He was surprised to see him, and resented the intrusion.”

5. (uncountable)The state of being vexed, annoyed, or irritated; annoyance, irritation; also, disappointment, discontentment, unhappiness; (countable) an instance of this.

   “Thus I haue conſidered all the thinges that come to paſſe vnder the Sõne, ⁊ lo, they are all but vanitie ⁊ vexacion of mynde.”

   “[M]en lyued ſimplye and innocentlye without inforcement of lawes, without quarellinge Judges and libelles, contente onely to ſatiſfie nature, without further vexation for knowledge of thinges to come.”

   “Full of vexation, come I, vvith complaint / Againſt my childe, my daughter Hermia.”

   “So ſome, ſaith Fracaſtorius [Girolamo Fracastoro], in fury, but moſt in despaire, ſorrovv, feare, and out of the anguiſh and vexation of their ſoules, offer violence to themſelues: for their life is vnhappy and miſerable.”

   “And vvhether Poverty or Riches produce the Vexation, the Impreſſion it makes upon the Heart, is alike from both.”

6. (uncountable)The state of being vexed, annoyed, or irritated; annoyance, irritation; also, disappointment, discontentment, unhappiness; (countable) an instance of this.
7. (countable)A source of mental distress or trouble; an affliction, a woe; also, a source of annoyance or irritation; an annoyance, an irritant.

   “[S]hould ſhe thus be ſtolne avvay from you, / It vvould be much vexation to your age.”

   “She did harass Helen to give me up; but, after all, poor woman, I believe I have been a great vexation to her, and I cannot help being sorry for her.”

8. (obsolete, uncountable)The action of using force or violence on someone or something; (countable) an instance of this.

   “'Tis Princely, vvhen a Tyranne doth oppoſe; / And is a fortune ſent to exerciſe / Your vertue, as the vvind doth try ſtrong trees: / VVho by vexation grovv more ſound, and firme.”

   “Name the vexations, and the Martyrizations / Of Metalls, in the VVorke.”

   “Let No Ground be ſovved that is Planted vvith Vines; for the Earth hath enough to do to Attend the Services of That Plant, vvithout the Superfluous Vexations of the Plovv over and above.”