ornery

[ awr-nuh-ree ]

See synonyms for: ornery orneriness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,or·ner·i·er, or·ner·i·est.Dialect.

ugly and unpleasant in disposition or temper: No one can get along with my ornery cousin.
stubborn: I can't do a thing with that ornery mule.

low or vile.
inferior or common; ordinary.

Origin of ornery

First recorded in 1790–1800; contraction of ordinary

Other words for ornery

1	mean, ill-tempered, ill-natured, surly, testy

See synonyms for ornery on Thesaurus.com

Other words from ornery

or·ner·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ornery in a sentence

It was hard enough to find the hippo, a massive, ornery male with a reputation for harassing local ranchers.
Invasion of the hippos: Colombia is running out of time to tackle Pablo Escobar’s wildest legacy | Sarah Kaplan | January 11, 2021 | Washington Post

British Dictionary definitions for ornery

ornery

/ (ˈɔːnərɪ) /

adjectiveUS and Canadian dialect, or informal

stubborn or vile-tempered
low; treacherous: an ornery trick

ordinary

Origin of ornery

C19: alteration of ordinary

Derived forms of ornery

orneriness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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