Vex — A Vocabulary Story
Ming and the Missing Piece
Ming had spent three whole days on the biggest jigsaw puzzle in the world. Well, the biggest one in her house, anyway. One thousand pieces of a picture of penguins having a picnic, and she had done nine hundred and ninety-nine of them.
One piece was missing. One. Single. Piece.
Right in the middle of the chief penguin's tummy sat a puzzle-shaped hole, and nothing had ever vexed Ming more in her entire life.
Vex means to make someone feel annoyed, frustrated or worried. It can also mean to puzzle or trouble the mind with a difficult problem.
She checked under the table. She checked behind the sofa. She checked inside her little brother Jun's welly boots, because Jun put strange things in his wellies all the time.
"Have you eaten it?" she asked him.
"I only ate a biscuit," said Jun, looking offended.
Ming flopped onto the carpet with a groan. The penguin stared back at her with its holey tummy, which vexed her even more. It was almost like it was smirking.
Then Grandpa shuffled past in his enormous tartan slippers, humming to himself, and Ming heard a tiny click-clack with every step.
"Grandpa! Stop!"
Grandpa froze mid-shuffle. Ming lifted his left foot like a horse doctor checking a hoof, and there, stuck to the bottom of his slipper, was the penguin's tummy.
"That piece has been vexing me for hours!" cried Ming. "And you've been wearing it!"
"No wonder my walk felt lumpy," said Grandpa.
Ming pressed the piece into place. The chief penguin's tummy was finally complete, and Ming decided he wasn't smirking after all. He was smiling.
Word Definition
vex
meaning
to make someone feel annoyed, frustrated or worried; to puzzle or trouble the mind with a difficult problem
synonyms
annoy · irritate · bother · pester · trouble
antonyms
soothe · calm · please
example sentence
The noisy crowd began to vex the teacher.