Ornery means bad-tempered, stubborn, and difficult to deal with. An ornery mule refuses to budge no matter how much you coax or pull. An ornery neighbor complains about everything, from where you park your bike to how loud you sneeze. When someone's being ornery, they're grouchy and uncooperative, often for no good reason.

The word carries a sense of cantankerous stubbornness. Ornery suggests a person or animal has a naturally disagreeable temperament that goes beyond temporary bad moods. A dog might be ornery, snapping at people who try to pet it. A character in a story might be an ornery old prospector who chases kids off his property.

People sometimes use ornery with grudging affection, like describing a grandparent who grumbles about modern technology but secretly enjoys the company. There's a difference between someone having an ornery moment and being genuinely mean: ornery folks are difficult and prickly, but not necessarily cruel. They're hard to please and quick to find fault, like a grumpy cat that swats at the hand trying to feed it properly.