ornery - Definitions from Dictionary.com

4 results for: ornery

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

or·ner·y

Audio Help [awr-nuh-ree] Pronunciation Key

–adjective, -ner·i·er, -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; contr. of ordinary

]

—Related forms

or·ner·i·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. mean, ill-tempered, ill-natured, surly, testy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
ornery

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

or·ner·y Audio Help (ôr'nə-rē) Pronunciation Key
adj. or·ner·i·er, or·ner·i·est
Mean-spirited, disagreeable, and contrary in disposition; cantankerous.

[Alteration of ordinary.]

or'ner·i·ness' n.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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."

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