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ornery

adjective

ˈȯr-nə-rē How to pronounce ornery (audio)
Definition of ornerynext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ornery For ornery toddlers, who want to do everything themselves, Rao suggests giving them their own toothbrush to use while parents brush their teeth with a second one right alongside them. — Sarah Lindenfeld Hall, Popular Science, 11 Mar. 2026 With two adults, three children, and one ornery cat living in the same house, keeping track of everyone’s stuff can sometimes seem overwhelming. — Libby Monteith Minor, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2026 But Duvall rose to prominence the next decade, first as the ornery Major Frank Burns in the 1970 antiwar comedy M*A*S*H, reuniting with Robert Altman, who’d previously cast him in 1967’s Countdown. — Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2026 This bag is a high-capacity workhorse, with plenty of organization features, tough materials that can handle ornery baggage handlers, and smooth-rolling wheels for pain-free airport navigation. — Outside, 12 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ornery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ornery
  1. irritable
  2. angry
  3. cantankerous
  4. surly
  5. bilious
  6. disagreeable
  7. dyspeptic
Adjective
  • If a relative or housemate seems irritable, ask what’s going on instead of working around the mood.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
  • As the fascination with Ernetti grows into something unhealthy, Béatrice subtly grows more tired, more distracted, more irritable and desperate for answers, small changes Sellier conveys with a smart sense of restraint.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • Now a new Cherry Orchard, the work of another Australian auteur, Simon Stone, has put down roots in the cavernous drill hall of the Park Avenue Armory, and the angry young tutor goes even further.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Punk rock has always been tied to the idea that both artists and listeners are angry — frustrated with the system, furious at injustice.
    — Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Beneath the song's upbeat melody and the movie's cantankerous humor, both deliver a powerful message that women deserve equal pay and treatment in the workplace.
    — Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Slow Horses stars Oldman as Lamb, a brilliant but cantankerous leader of dysfunctional spies who have made career-ending mistakes and end up at a dumping ground MI5 unit known as Slough House.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • The United States is now a reluctant international donor and a surly member of key international organizations.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The Jordan that the audience gets to know is a bit surly and self-centered.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of surly
Adjective
  • Look the steady coarsening of American civic and political culture and the ways in which the once-outrageous—the bilious, hateful rhetoric and the creeping authoritarianism—have become almost ordinary.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of bilious
Adjective
  • Mistaking being disagreeable with the act of disagreeing is common - especially in unsafe psychological workplaces.
    — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • Govan might prevail on Lucas to join as well, as an idiosyncratic and dyspeptic if public-minded voice.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Definition of dyspeptic

Browse Nearby Words

orneriness
ornery
orotund
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Cite this Entry

“Ornery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ornery. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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