Word of the Day: Ornery — Meaning and how to use it like a pro

Word of the Day: Ornery means stubbornly bad-tempered by nature. Not just grumpy for a day. Built that way.It comes from 1800s American dialect — a twisted form of "ordinary," meaning low character. Mark Twain loved it. Country songs use it. Your grandmother probably said it. Use it for people who push back on everything, always. "He was too ornery to apologise even when he was wrong." Ornery is irreplaceable precisely because no other word does what it does. Grumpy is too mild.