ornerier; orneriest
Definition of ornery
1a
: having an irritable disposition : cantankerous
an ornery old man Telling her that would have been an invitation to getting my head chopped off, because she was a mean, ornery number until the day she died.— John Gregory Dunne
b
: difficult to deal with or control
an ornery mule … once made word processors so ornery that they caused secretaries to collapse in tears …— Bro Uttal … a bout with walking pneumonia and an ornery case of poison oak.— Paul Francis
2
chiefly Midwestern US
: having or showing a playful tendency to cause trouble : mischievous
an ornery smile It had been fun to play a trick on those ornery boys. They were not bad boys: just wild things full of vim and vinegar who were trying to fill their time and show off.— Connie Leonard Geron … invited me to come take pictures at a little family tradition they have … A shaving cream war. They have a large family; so there were tons of kids of all ages there. I think what I loved most about this was the fact that the adults got just as ornery as the kids.— Rebecca Haines
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for ornery
The first known use of ornery was in 1849
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