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
Throughout the movie, the ornery Scrooge (played by George C. Scott) is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
—
Olatunji Osho-Williams, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Nov. 2024
One memorable scene, in which Tom Hanks’s ornery coach Jimmy Dugan throws a baseball mitt at a sneering Stilwell, proved particularly difficult.
—John Russell, People.com, 19 Nov. 2024
Chargers defense is physical with an ornery disposition.
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2024
Chief among them – though this lead, like every other character, goes nameless – is an ornery sort played by Mastandrea himself.
—Ben Croll, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for ornery
Olatunji Osho-Williams, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Nov. 2024
One memorable scene, in which Tom Hanks’s ornery coach Jimmy Dugan throws a baseball mitt at a sneering Stilwell, proved particularly difficult.
—John Russell, People.com, 19 Nov. 2024
Chargers defense is physical with an ornery disposition.
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2024
Chief among them – though this lead, like every other character, goes nameless – is an ornery sort played by Mastandrea himself.
—Ben Croll, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for ornery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ornery
Adjective
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Cold exposure is particularly helpful for those who have irritable skin through the constriction of blood vessels, alleviating swelling and flushes.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
Newsweek,
24 Feb. 2025
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The elderly single mom, played with an irritable, bone-deep bitterness by Irish actor Fiona Shaw, has spent the past few years paralyzed by an illness no one can diagnose.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Trashing a guy’s car is nothing new among angry exes, but one Florida woman took it to an absurd level after having a little too much to drink, according to Florida investigators.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2025
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One of her twisted arms is lopped off by an angry audience member and turns into a firehose of blood.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Of course, even the most cantankerous player can have his suitors when his play is of a certain standard, and Acosta is among the best No. 10s in one of the few leagues that caters to the specialized role.—
Jeff Rueter,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
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Over the years, site landowners from the same family could be cantankerous (Elmer Lindsey) or friendly and willing to be engaged (Howard and Doris Lindsey).—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American-Statesman,
22 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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The Pacific Northwest, which has played host to a series of surly atmospheric rivers and a bomb cyclone in recent days, should finally quiet down, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys told USA TODAY on Sunday as that national weather picture for the holiday grew sharper.—
John Bacon,
USA TODAY,
24 Nov. 2024
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Greg and Tanya show up in Season 2, after the surly Greg insisted on a Sicilian trip.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The United States’s three most powerful European allies disagree with its plan for ending the brutal, destructive stalemate in Ukraine, with Germany the most disagreeable.—
Dominic Green,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
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Sometimes that means confronting disagreeable people.—
David Plazas,
The Tennessean,
24 Apr. 2024
Adjective
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In the Nineties, the report became a staple in the bilious feedstock of right-wing militias, part of a slurry of propaganda that turned legitimate grievances into the conviction that FEMA agents in unmarked black helicopters were soon to enact a new world order.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harper's Magazine,
19 Feb. 2025
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The death chamber is nine feet by twelve feet, painted a bilious turquoise.—
Lawrence Wright,
The New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ornery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ornery. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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