Ornery

Quick meaning: Ornery is an adjective meaning (originally and chiefly US, especially Appalachia, informal) Disagreeable, stubborn, and troublesome to deal with; cantankerous.

Meaning

(originally and chiefly US, especially Appalachia, informal) Disagreeable, stubborn, and troublesome to deal with; cantankerous.

More Meanings

1. (originally Southern US, now general US, humorous, informal) Troublesome to deal with in a good way; mischievous, prankish, teasing.
2. (obsolete) Ordinary, commonplace; hence, inferior, plain-looking, unpleasant.

Example Sentences

After a lifetime of being sweet as pie, once Grandpa died, she got kinda ornery.

Through Michael sped the thought: 'Could I make her jealous?' And he was shocked at it. A low-down thought—mean and ornery!

But in many instances, the complainers are not just being ornery [about noisy eating]; they could have a condition called misophonia, in which one experiences strong negative feelings to specific sounds—like the proverbial nails on a chalkboard.

I ain't sayin' I don't share your sentiments, Buck, but you're a born fool. First place Luke would kill the Kid in a gun-fight. Second place if Luke did get shot he's got two brothers just as ornery as he is, and if Ike Plummer didn't kill the Kid then Hank Plummer would.

Word Forms

• ornerier
• orneriest
• ornary

Synonyms for ornery

Depending on context, synonyms include contrary, crabby, cross-grained, crotchety, honery, ill-tempered.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include crotchety, cantankerous, ill-natured, irascible, cuss, nasty.

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