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ornery

/ˈɔːnəɹi/
Meanings
  • adjective

    Adjective: difficult to deal with; cranky, irritable, or bad-tempered.

    - "Why was the old donkey ornery? Because he didn't like being saddled."
    - "The ornery cat hissed and swiped at my hand when I tried to pet him."
    - "The ornery child refused to eat his vegetables."
Pronunciation
  1. /ˈɔːnəɹi/



    Source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88897578"
Rhymes
Words rhyming with ornery
urny , urnie , urney , turney , furney , curney
Variants
List of all variants of ornery that leads to same result
ornerier , orneriest , orneriness , ornerinesses , ornery
Forms
Different forms of the word (e.g., verb conjugations, plural forms, comparative/superlative forms for adjectives).

ornier, orniest

Etymology
origin and the way in which meanings have changed throughout history.

Originally meaning 'obstinate' or 'unyielding,' ornery comes from the Middle English word 'orny,' meaning 'difficult' or 'hard to please.'

Trivia
Any details, considerations, events or pieces of information regarding the word

  1. The term 'ornery' has been used in various forms of media, such as music (Ornery Smith, a character in the animated TV series 'South Park') and film (Ornery Bill, a character in the movie 'The Apple Dumpling Gang').

  2. Ornery is often used as a term of endearment among friends or family, implying a certain level of familiarity and affection despite the person's difficult or irritable nature.

Related Concepts
informations on related concepts or terms closely associated with the word. Discuss semantic fields or domains that the word belongs to

  1. irritable: A person or thing that is easily annoyed or provoked.

  2. cranky: A person who is easily annoyed or irritable, often grumbling or complaining.

  3. bad-tempered: A person who is easily angered or has a short temper.

Quotes
Quotes by authors and personalities

  1. Critics have compared his work to Faulkner's. And like Faulkner, McCarthy is an acquired taste as well as a palate cleanser. He's a stubborn, "ornery" writer, known for his ornate sentences, arcane vocabulary, casual disregard for standard punctuation and untranslated bits of foreign dialogue that offer little in the way of a narrative compass to guide readers along.

    - Sara Mosle,{it}New York Times Book Review{/it},17 May 1998

  2. Based on the best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand, {it}Seabiscuit{/it} tells the true story of an "ornery", undersize, beaten-up Thoroughbred who becomes a champion in the 1930s.

    - Lev Grossman,{it}Time{/it},21 July 2003
Culture
Any cultural, historical, or symbolic significance of the word. Explore how the word has been used in literature, art, music, or other forms of expression.

Ornery is a common term used in American English to describe someone who is difficult, cranky, or irritable. It has been used in various forms of literature, such as Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' where Tom is described as an ornery boy.

How to Memorize "ornery"

  1. visualize

    - Visualize a person or animal that is difficult to deal with, such as a stubborn mule or a cranky old man.

  2. associate

    - Associate the word 'ornery' with words like 'irritable,' 'cranky,' or 'bad-tempered' to help remember its meaning.

  3. mnemonics

    - Create a mnemonic such as 'O R N E R Y' standing for 'Obstinate, Resistant, Never Easy, Really Yielding' to help remember the meaning of the word.

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