What's the difference between irk and vex?

Irk


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To weary; to give pain; to annoy; -- used only impersonally at present.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) When the rats were grouped into animals with mild (20%), moderate (50%), and severe (80%) reductions in maximal IRK activity, it was found that the mild and moderate defects could be reversed once the receptors were subjected to extensive autophosphorylation in vitro.
  • (2) We characterized the mechanism of IRK inhibition and studied whether it is the consequence of a glucose-induced stimulation of protein kinase C (PKC).
  • (3) 18 May 2014 New £69.4bn proposal, worth £55 a share, piles pressure on AstraZeneca's board to enter negotiations with Pfizer 19 May 2014 AstraZeneca board rejects Pfizer's final £69bn takeover bid , irking some large shareholders
  • (4) Reports of George’s stag do at Ristorante da Ivo near St Mark’s Square with the free £3,000 meal featuring six flavours of ice cream, including takeaway cartons, initially irked me.
  • (5) Joleon Lescott last weekend irked supporters by clumsily saying relegation was a “weight off the shoulders”.
  • (6) Wenger must be the only manager in football to be irked by reports that he will be offered a new deal.
  • (7) Walking by last Monday, Trump gestured towards an image of his inauguration crowd – a point that still irks him – and told reporters there would soon be an official statement about the future of his national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
  • (8) Blogger Yomi Adegoke said: "Thinly veiling vanity as philanthropy more than irks … the pretence these images are for anything other than an onslaught of 'natural beauty' acclamations, coupled with pats on the back for 'fighting the cause' makes the no makeup selfie mania even harder to stomach."
  • (9) We, therefore, conclude that glucose intolerance in aging could be attributed at least in part to acquired defects in the in vivo activation of the hepatic IRK, which results in reduced phosphorylation of its putative substrate pp180.
  • (10) But while agreeing that the results should not be exaggerated, D'Alimonte still thinks they indicate that the Five Star shine is wearing off among some voters - including those who were irked by the rambunctious figurehead's refusal to support a minority government led by the centre-left Democratic party (PD), thus forcing the PD to form a coalition with Berlusconi's centre-right.
  • (11) The corporation's power online and expanding digital TV and radio channels have irked beleaguered commercial rivals, resulting in an attack by James Murdoch, head of News Corporation in the UK.
  • (12) The home crowd turned their ire on the Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai – his decision to dismiss Piiroja for handball in the 76th minute particularly irked them – but they were deluding themselves if they thought he was to blame.
  • (13) Right now is not the time.” The midfielder refused to be drawn on suggestions that his team-mates were irked by his comments, and insisted the atmosphere among the squad in Brazil was similar to during the glorious Euro 2012 campaign.
  • (14) Hyperglycemia causes insulin-receptor kinase (IRK) resistance in fat cells.
  • (15) The comments irked the geologists' professional body, which was founded in 1807 as a dining club in a London pub.
  • (16) Philip Hammond appears to have irked the prime minister by making a sexist remark in cabinet, exposing the tensions at the highest level of government.
  • (17) Look, he’s the clear frontrunner, he’s been in six debates already, answered more questions from the media than any other candidate on the stage combined.” The Fox News press release that irked Trump and led to his withdrawal read: “We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president – a nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.” Trump derided it as “a wise guy press release .
  • (18) To determine whether defects in insulin receptor kinase (IRK) activity or in the phosphorylation of its physiological substrates underlie this age-related phenomenon, young (2-3 months old) and old (24-27 months old) Wistar rats were studied.
  • (19) Field has already irked the medallion stallion with some low blows before the bell has rung, but it looks doubtful whether punches will be pulled for the number crunchers.
  • (20) Linehan, who turned 44 last week, is irked by the persistence of the idea that the sitcom that brought him and Arthur Mathews to the attention of millions has canned laughter on it.

Vex


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To to/s back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet.
  • (v. t.) To make angry or annoyed by little provocations; to irritate; to plague; to torment; to harass; to afflict; to trouble; to tease.
  • (v. t.) To twist; to weave.
  • (v. i.) To be irritated; to fret.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) De Boer's successor's first tasks will be to keep the US aboard the negotiations and to clear up the vexed question of the legal status of the Copenhagen accord , the deal struck at Copenhagen by a small group but not endorsed by a majority of countries.
  • (2) There is also the vexed question of what should be the legal form of any Paris agreement, a subject likely to keep negotiators up late into the night at the conference, and some anxiety among the hosts over whether the text of a deal can be formulated in due time.
  • (3) But the bigger question, the one that has vexed historians, biographers and holocaust experts for eight decades, is why she was there.
  • (4) Cs (2 mM) reduced diastolic depolarization (DD) at different [Ca]O and in 10.8 mM [Ca]O revealed an oscillatory potential (VOS) and the decay of a prolonged depolarization (Vex).
  • (5) The past few days have been vexing ones for reporting guidelines, voluntary or legal.
  • (6) The present data also highlighted the vexed relationship between stress and seizure control, which needs to be further investigated.
  • (7) Another vexed national question in the coming months will be this one: who is the most worthy winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year?
  • (8) Delivery of monoclonal antibodies to solid tumors is a vexing problem that must be solved if these antibodies are to realize their promise in therapy.
  • (9) Pathologists without considerable experience in the diagnosis of bone tumors find this question especially vexing.
  • (10) Caffeine (5 mM) abolishes Vos and Ios and increases Vex and Iex (as DOXO does), and adding DOXO slightly increased Vex and Iex.
  • (11) Posttraumatic joint stiffness is particularly vexing in the small joints.
  • (12) In this spirit, a vignette is offered from a clinical area in which questions of "health" and "illness" are particularly vexing at present.
  • (13) Some might argue that our eyes weren't quite on the ball back in '89: never mind the cataclysmic political upheaval in eastern Europe – the results of which still echo around the world – let's devote ourselves to a page concerned with vexed questions such as: why is water wet?
  • (14) The draft provides scant details on the vexed subject of accountability for emission reduction programmes.
  • (15) Nowhere was the commission’s balancing act more finely weighted than on the vexed question of bioenergy, which Cañete admitted was “a clear problem”.
  • (16) The top Chinese negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, said there was also a possibility of advances on the vexed issued of transparency – how to monitor, report and verify each nation's emissions to ensure they are honouring their pledges.
  • (17) But now it’s Isis who are the insurgents,” leaving the peshmerga with the vexing challenge of defending and holding territory.
  • (18) On the vexed issue of longer term finance, the Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi presented an offer to reduce developing country demands by 75% to $100bn a year from 2020, in return for guarantees of how the money would be distributed.
  • (19) Discussed here are some contours of the vexing problem of adequate minority participation in the health professions and a brief discussion of some programs that appear to be working.
  • (20) After the creed and some Benjamin Britten, and a blessing and a long round of applause, the man charged with holding together the fractious global Anglican communion as it struggles with the vexed issues of women bishops and same-sex marriage processed out of the cathedral and into the bitterly cold spring afternoon.