as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper
an ornery old man who always yells at the neighborhood kids to keep off his lawn
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ornery
Their aggressive, ornery, and unpredictable nature has earned them the nickname Black Death.
—
Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 7 Aug. 2025
Meanwhile, eighty-three-year-old Harrison Ford earned his first Emmy nod for his role as the ornery therapist on the show Shrinking.
—Taylor Wilson, USA Today, 16 July 2025
That is, until an ornery cow named Daisy kicks over a lantern and ignites a fire that quickly engulfs the Windy City.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 3 July 2025
Gene Hackman was famously ornery on the set of The Royal Tenenbaums, and Anderson has talked about being intimidated by the two-time Oscar winner.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for ornery
Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 7 Aug. 2025
Meanwhile, eighty-three-year-old Harrison Ford earned his first Emmy nod for his role as the ornery therapist on the show Shrinking.
—Taylor Wilson, USA Today, 16 July 2025
That is, until an ornery cow named Daisy kicks over a lantern and ignites a fire that quickly engulfs the Windy City.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 3 July 2025
Gene Hackman was famously ornery on the set of The Royal Tenenbaums, and Anderson has talked about being intimidated by the two-time Oscar winner.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for ornery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ornery
Adjective
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However, such symptoms are hard to attribute to vaccines because infants can be irritable or fussy regardless of vaccination.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC news,
19 Sep. 2025
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When the caffeine wears off, children may have a headache and feel irritable or tired.—
Dr. Mark Corkins,
Boston Herald,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Anyone proposing to offer a master class on changing the world for the better, without becoming negative, cynical, angry or narrow-minded in the process, could model their advice on the life and work of pioneering animal behavior scholar Jane Goodall.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
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An angry cowboy named Jake once slammed a guest’s door and locked it.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Getty portrayed the cantankerous but charming matriarch Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Arthur's character, and McClanahan played the flirtatious Southern belle Blanche.—
Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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Tudyk played Sonny, a robot who helps the cantankerous detective uncover the truth behind his creator's death.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In the solo debut for the writer-director Shih-Ching Tsou, a mother and her two daughters—one a surly teenager, the other a curious child—build a home in Taipei.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
20 Sep. 2025
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In the span of a few months rehabbing in Los Angeles in 2023, an oft-surly 40-year-old quarterback became pals with a 25-year-old goofball of a running back.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That continues when the matriarch finally passes away 20 years later, leaving equally bilious offspring Laras (Dinda Kanyadewi) in charge.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
6 Aug. 2025
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Even though his bloodwork looked normal six months previously, sudden onset or acute renal failure can happen in an old dog for no apparent reason other than age and result in bilious vomiting.—
Dr. John De Jong,
Boston Herald,
8 June 2025
Adjective
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Over the weekend, reports emerged that the higher tariffs followed a disagreeable Thursday phone call between Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and Trump — which Swiss officials rejected, according to Reuters.—
Sophie Kiderlin,Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
4 Aug. 2025
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Trump and his supporters prefer a happy history, a pleasant history that arouses patriotism by overlooking disagreeable people and despicable events that sully the nation’s reputation and mar the magnificence of the American story.—
William C. Hine,
Twin Cities,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.—
Stephen Galloway,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ornery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ornery. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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