Question

tears rose in the poor boys eyes, but he repressed them like a man, that he might not vex us still more.
in the sentence above, vex has the same or almost the same meaning as:
peruse
malign
reprove
worry

Explanation:

In the sentence, the boy represses his tears so as not to cause more distress. "Worry" means to cause distress or anxiety, which fits the context. "Peruse" means to read carefully, "malign" means to speak ill of, and "reprove" means to scold. None of these fit as well as "worry".

Answer:

worry