as in cantankerousness
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orneriness
Noun
-
Dani’s surliness has evaporated.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025 -
The Dolphins knew in the spring that Jalen Ramsey’s tardiness and surliness did not fit the culture that the organization wanted to build.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Poor sleep leads to more than just crankiness A cranky kid after a bad night’s sleep is bad enough.—
Avery Newmark,
AJC.com,
10 Mar. 2026
-
And remember, most Californians are running on an hour less sleep today, so drive a little slower and blame your crankiness on the time change.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Vince Gilligan moved to Apple and returned to his X-Files roots for the sci-fi horror dramatic comedy Pluribus, which used its ultra-mysterious and yet ultra-familiar genre trappings for a droll meditation on the eternal clash between collective joy and individual grouchiness.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Nov. 2025
-
Emily is also struggling with Annabelle, who has inherited her mom’s attitude and the grouchiness of any adolescent forced to grow up with an Evolution Media camera crew in her home.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Sure, the Oscar-winning makeup helps transform the actor into Cheney, but the voice and petulance are all Bale, whose conjuring of this scoundrel ought to trigger PTSD for anyone who survived the Dubya years.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Warren deserves kudos for bucking the trend of petulance exhibited by too many Democrats that night.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Restricting them can increase irritability, low mood, food preoccupation, and risk of binge eating.—
Maggie O'Neill,
Verywell Health,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Sleep also plays a major role in emotional regulation and cognitive performance as insufficient sleep can impair attention, decision-making and reaction time while also increasing irritability and sensitivity to stress.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There’s probably not much of a mystery bubbling around the pizza plaza’s sudden crustiness toward the Super Bowl.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Use disposable products like gauze or cotton swabs to gently remove build-up or crustiness.—
Sherri Gordon,
Health,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
His shrieking reactions to his wife’s savagery throw into relief his good nature and her perversity.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
For me, there’s always the perversity of getting on a trendy bandwagon and just liking it for the irony.—
Marc Malkin,
Variety,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Warriors trailed by 11 points after a first quarter notable mostly for some late Golden State testiness.—
Ron Kroichick,
San Francisco Chronicle,
2 Jan. 2026
-
Corbett said the testiness started in Florida and returned with the team to Charlotte.—
Joseph Person,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Orneriness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orneriness. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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