ornery
Americanadjective
-
ugly and unpleasant in disposition or temper.
No one can get along with my ornery cousin.
- Synonyms:
- testy, surly, ill-natured, ill-tempered, mean
-
stubborn.
I can't do a thing with that ornery mule.
-
low or vile.
-
inferior or common; ordinary.
adjective
-
stubborn or vile-tempered
-
low; treacherous
an ornery trick
-
ordinary
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ornery
First recorded in 1790–1800; contraction of ordinary
Explanation
To be ornery is to be grumpy and hard to please. Oscar the Grouch? Definitely ornery. The adjective ornery sprung up in the early 19th century when people started pronouncing ordinary with an accent. The root of ordinary is the Latin word for “order,” and if you disrupt the orderly existence of an ornery person, prepare to get yelled at. A person can have a consistently ornery personality, or maybe you’re feeling ornery today because you skipped breakfast. Some synonyms for ornery are cantankerous and crotchety, words that sound as grumpy as the people they describe.
Vocabulary lists containing ornery
Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Walk Two Moons
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But O’Neill’s 1921 drama poses ornery challenges for an actress—and not just because Greta Garbo immortalized the role in her first “talkie.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025
Quesada said she’d surprise him at times with funny little stories “about her more ornery days.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2024
An ornery, board-jacking sea otter is terrorizing surfers off the coast of Santa Cruz.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2023
With his wild, Einsteinian coif, Romantic poet adoration and cryptic, sometimes ornery nature, Dylan is often held up as an emblematic example of the modern male genius.
From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2023
I sat down and tried to pick the ornery stickers out of Sal’s fur and she licked my hand in thanks.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
