ornery

ˈɔːnəɹi

3 definitions

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#1·15h ago

(originally, and, chiefly, US, especially, Appalachia, informal) Disagreeable, stubborn, and troublesome to deal with; cantankerous.

Seemingly here was an intruder who was violating custom. Moreover, the partners had come to look upon this exceedingly rich district as their exclusive property. And so their indignation was extreme. "The low-down, ornery cuss!" said Dob…

Origin: A or pronunciation of . (“ordinary, commonplace”) was the earliest sense; the meaning of the word then shifted to “inferior, plain-looking, unpleasant”—presumably due to ordinariness—and finally to (“disagreeable, stubborn, and troublesome to deal with”). Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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#2·15h ago

(originally, Southern US, now, general, _, US, humorous, informal) Troublesome to deal with in a good way; mischievous, prankish, teasing.

I ain't sayin' I don't share your sentiments, Buck, but you're a born fool. First place Luke would kill the Kid in a gun-fight. Second place if Luke did get shot he's got two brothers just as ornery as he is, and if Ike Plummer didn't ki…

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#3·15h ago

(obsolete) Ordinary, commonplace; hence, inferior, plain-looking, unpleasant.

[“S]he was a girl and girls are less ornery than boys. Though I guess Mim was ornery in her way. Once she got to be sixteen, she put my parents through hell.” / “Grandpa, what’s ‘ornery’?” / “Oh, you know. Mean. Contrary. Rebellious.” / …

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