or·ner·y

[awr-nuh-ree]
adjective, or·ner·i·er, or·ner·i·est. Dialect.
1.
ugly and unpleasant in disposition or temper: No one can get along with my ornery cousin.
2.
stubborn: I can't do a thing with that ornery mule.
3.
low or vile.
4.
inferior or common; ordinary.

Origin:
1790–1800; contraction of ordinary

or·ner·i·ness, noun


1. mean, ill-tempered, ill-natured, surly, testy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Ornery is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
ornery (ˈɔːnərɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  stubborn or vile-tempered
2.  low; treacherous: an ornery trick
3.  ordinary
 
[C19: alteration of ordinary]
 
'orneriness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

ornery
1816, Amer.Eng. dialectal contraction of ordinary. "Commonplace," hence "of poor quality, coarse, ugly." By c.1860 the sense had evolved to "mean, cantankerous."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
But nobody else would have persisted and been as ornery as she was about
  getting it done.
Computers are ornery beasts, as many readers will no doubt concur.
But beneath the seductive skin live ornery lizard-beings with superhuman
  strength and speed.
No matter how ornery a bear may have been, the encounter would not result in an
  arrest or a warning being issued.
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