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 as Royal Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums
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 as Royal Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums
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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Most cases clear up on their own without complications, but parents should contact a doctor if a child cannot keep fluids down, has a high fever lasting more than a few days or seems unusually drowsy or irritable.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
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Also known as irritable hip, the condition is due to inflammation of the hip joint lining.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Robby is angry at himself for not seeing it.—
Senior Television,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
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None of the referees appeared to be struck by the objects being thrown on the court, despite video showing a windfall of debris raining down from the angry crowd.—
Sean Neumann,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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In Christmas Vacation, Marshall portrayed Ellen's cantankerous father, Art Smith.—
Kate Hogan,
PEOPLE,
26 Dec. 2025
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Iran’s cantankerous elite came together, and the public remained passive.—
Ray Takeyh,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Everyone is welcoming and warm—other than a free-roaming ostrich, curious and slightly surly, which keeps skittish guard over the entire site.—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
21 Dec. 2025
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Remember how in 2023 when swarms of these surly, entitled freeloaders suddenly materialized – in Terminal E, of all places.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
28 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Sun shrinking and getting hotter; everything bilious, oxygenless, not great for living.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Minaj’s bilious flurry is possibly related to claims that she is owed between $100 to 200 million related to her stake in Tidal, the music streaming service launched and spearheaded by Jay-Z in 2015 and was sold to Jack Dorsey’s company Square for $297 million in 2021.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
15 Oct. 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 10 Jan. 2026.
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