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Ornery developed as a variant of which word?

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ornery

American  

[awr-nuh-ree] / ˈɔr nə ri /

adjective

Dialect.

ornerier, orneriest

1. ugly and unpleasant in disposition or temper.

   No one can get along with my ornery cousin.

   Synonyms:

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

2. stubborn.

   I can't do a thing with that ornery mule.

3. low or vile.

4. inferior or common; ordinary.

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ornery British  

/ ˈɔːnərɪ /

adjective

1. stubborn or vile-tempered

2. low; treacherous

   an ornery trick

3. ordinary

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Other Word Forms

• orneriness
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of ornery

First recorded in 1790–1800; contraction of ordinary

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ornery ornerier orneriest

Sadly, the circumstances of our birth also sentenced us to put up with picayune, ornery, solipsistic types like him.

From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026

Josh Charles stars as a talented but ornery surgeon who leaves his career in Boston to become a doctor in a small town.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

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

Otter 841, California’s most ornery sea mammal, has returned to waters off Santa Cruz.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2024

Back when I was growing up, there were a few ornery youngsters around Sassafras Springs who gave folks a terrible time, but the worst of those children was a boy named Buddy.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

Brustein’s universalism grew ornerier and more claustrophobic with age.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2023

He was mebby thinking how much ornerier that would make the hull scheme.

From Danny's Own Story by Don Marquis

Pitching in the brilliant sunshine July sunshine with temperatures in the low 80s, the orneriest of the Mariners starters delivered an outstanding performance in a season filled with them.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

In a family with six children, Bob wasn’t the oldest Stoops child - that title belongs to brother Ron Jr. - but Kathy says Bob was the edgiest, the feistiest, the orneriest.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 4, 2017

“Colleen was the orneriest one in the pool, but boy, could she swim!”

From Washington Times ● Jan. 7, 2017

And ... if he wishes to further extend his inventive genius to elephant snares, our special elephant trap welders make welds unconditionally guaranteed to discourage the attempt of the orneriest pachyderm to "walk away mil."

From Time Magazine Archive

I wasn’t ’bout to sneak no looks at Miss Daponte; ’twas well knowed that ’long with being the strongest woman in Possum Moan, she was also the orneriest one.

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

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Related Words

• cranky
• grouchy
• grumpy
• hard-nosed
• ill-tempered
• nasty
• obstinate
• vicious

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