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
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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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By the end, Liverpool’s players seemed tired and Klopp was irritable, clearly in need of a rest.—
Simon Hughes,
The Athletic,
20 Jan. 2025
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The trio’s sixth record is charmingly irritable in both of its moods: hopped up on fluffy coffee while cracking baseball jokes, or dragging out downbeats and lamenting power structures to goad listeners with mounting anticipation.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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As a result, Black individuals were beaten at random by angry mobs throughout the nation’s capital, including outside of the White House, according to BlackPast, which reported police didn’t intervene.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
22 Jan. 2025
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One protester was shot to death by a Capitol police officer while at the head of an angry mob pushing through a door.—
The Editors,
National Review,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Sunrise on the Reaping will follow a young Haymitch, who later becomes the cantankerous mentor of District 12’s famous tributes.—
Lizz Schumer,
People.com,
18 Jan. 2025
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During his first term, Mr. Trump functioned less as a coach calling plays and more as a cantankerous owner demanding that his team throw out the entire playbook in the fourth quarter.—
Catie Edmondson,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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That criticism, along with other struggles, has seemingly influenced Davis to be in a surly and unpredictable mood over the past two months.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
12 Jan. 2025
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Nero is a cynical and surly assassin who is betrayed by his master and long-term ally.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
19 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Sometimes that means confronting disagreeable people.—
David Plazas,
The Tennessean,
24 Apr. 2024
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The most important reason to avoid obsessing over China’s disagreeable regime, however, is that this fixation threatens a core U.S. advantage: Washington’s wide network of partners and allies.—
Evan S. Medeiros,
Foreign Affairs,
8 July 2021
Adjective
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Everyone within her radius bears the germophobe’s wrath, with the only one who can occasionally pierce through her bilious anger being her upbeat hair-stylist sister Chantal (Michelle Austin), a mother of two vibrant daughters.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
10 Jan. 2025
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The piece ran under an illustration of a black spatula dripping sinister goblets of melting plastic, against a background of bilious green.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near ornery
Cite this Entry
“Ornery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ornery. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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