Meaning & use
ornery
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having a difficult, stubborn, and irritable temperament.
Grammar: Can stand before a noun or after be; compare with more ornery and most ornery.
Patterns
- an ornery mood
- ornery old mule
- plain ornery
The truck had an ornery engine that stalled in cold weather.
He was tired and ornery after the long delay.
adjectivecomparablehumorous
Stubbornly independent or feisty, often said with amused affection.
Grammar: Still informal; tone depends on context and can become insulting if said coldly.
Patterns
- ornery but lovable
- an ornery customer
- ornery streak
The cat is ornery but lovable, hiding until dinner.
Grandpa told an ornery story about outsmarting the inspector.
Word forms
| comparative | more ornery |
|---|---|
| superlative | most ornery |
Common combinations
- ornery mood
- Do not ask for favors when he is in an ornery mood.
- ornery old mule
- The fence stopped the ornery old mule for only a minute.
- plain ornery
- The machine was plain ornery and refused every setting.
- ornery customer
- The clerk stayed calm with an ornery customer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- grumpy
- Grumpy names a bad mood; ornery suggests stubborn resistance as well.
- stubborn
- Stubborn only stresses refusal to change; ornery adds irritability.
- cranky
- Cranky is informal and close, but can be lighter and more temporary than ornery.
- cantankerous
- Cantankerous is more old-fashioned and strongly argumentative.
Opposites
Word family
- orneriness noun
- the quality of being ornery; uncommon and informal.
Commonly confused: ornery or ordinary?
ornery vs ordinary
Ordinary means usual or normal; ornery means irritable and stubborn.
Practice
Choose the word that best fits this informal American sentence: “The mule was ___ and refused to move.”
Choose one answer.
Ornery fits a stubborn, irritable refusal. Ordinary means normal, fragile describes delicate things, and polite contradicts refusing to move.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ornery”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.