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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Recent Examples of ornery
Creepy clowns, a raucous ringmaster and popular horror properties abound, Spirit's animatronic props this year are a mix of ornery original characters and beloved figures from classic horror cinema.
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Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 31 July 2024
Deda’s son, Karel (a terrific turn from Karel Martinec, the filmmaker’s own father) is an ornery recent widower who is truculent with his two adult daughters Lucie (Pavlína Balner) and Romana (Karin Bilíková).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 July 2024
Kevin Costner isn’t the only present-day actor with a fondness for Westerns; ornery old hands such as Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, and Tommy Lee Jones are always ready to don their ten-gallon hats for the right role.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 28 June 2024
For the next three hours, as an ornery donkey screeches in the valley below, seven pairs of muddy boots trek back and forth across the field, stretching black plastic sheeting, fiddling with irrigation lines and tucking tomato seedlings into the ground.
—Ashley Stimpson, Washington Post, 15 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ornery 
Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 31 July 2024
Deda’s son, Karel (a terrific turn from Karel Martinec, the filmmaker’s own father) is an ornery recent widower who is truculent with his two adult daughters Lucie (Pavlína Balner) and Romana (Karin Bilíková).
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 July 2024
Kevin Costner isn’t the only present-day actor with a fondness for Westerns; ornery old hands such as Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, and Tommy Lee Jones are always ready to don their ten-gallon hats for the right role.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 28 June 2024
For the next three hours, as an ornery donkey screeches in the valley below, seven pairs of muddy boots trek back and forth across the field, stretching black plastic sheeting, fiddling with irrigation lines and tucking tomato seedlings into the ground.
—Ashley Stimpson, Washington Post, 15 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ornery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ornery
Adjective
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People with anxiety may also feel irritable, tense, or restless, and may have a sense of impending danger, panic, or doom.Tribune Content Agency, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
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Max was admitted to the hospital after experiencing severe pain in July and was diagnosed with transient synovitis, a condition also referred to as irritable hip.Marina Watts, Peoplemag, 4 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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However, what violent extremists perceive as a tacit nod of approval — based on Trump’s own violent rhetoric — could lead to a surge in domestic terrorism in a country that remains anxious, angry and well-armed.Colin P. Clarke, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024
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But his future was in question after the party suffered its worst election defeat in more than a decade, losing support from voters angry about corruption scandals and the rising cost of living.Arata Yamamoto, NBC News, 11 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Pic directed by Christopher Andrews, who is making his feature directing debut, follows Michael (Abbott) who is the last son of a farming family, and lives an isolated existence with his ailing, cantankerous father Ray.Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2024
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The comedy written and directed by Eisenberg stars The Social Network star with Succession’s Kieran Culkin as cantankerous cousins exploring their family roots on a road trip in Poland.Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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There are coaches in the Premier League currently unable to navigate an interview without a surly comment or flash of ego.Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 1 Aug. 2024
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Fed up with his surly demeanor and negative attitude, the station hires psychologist Dr. Ivy Reed (Essence Atkins) to infuse a level of emotion into Poppa’s talk show.Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 21 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Buried in a bland mixed-use skyscraper in the dreary Financial District downtown, an aging, if glamorous, 1929 movie palace with rotten acoustics long served as the San Diego Symphony’s disagreeable home.Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
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The fasting is uncomfortable, the prep is disagreeable, and the procedure itself requires you to be put to sleep.Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 15 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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Not altogether surprising because the proliferation of guns and incendiary political rhetoric over the past few decades — and especially the last few bilious years — made the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pa., seemingly just a matter of time.Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2024
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The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Rampant exposure to this movie on cable suggests that Scorsese’s bilious portrait of Jordan Belfort may soon join GoodFellas as one of the director’s most intensely rewatchable efforts.Will Leitch, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near ornery
Cite this Entry
“Ornery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ornery. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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