Lexic.us

Definition of Orneriness

1. Noun. Meanspirited disagreeable contrariness.

Definition of Orneriness

1. Noun. the state of being ornery ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Orneriness

1. [n -ES]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Orneriness

Literary usage of Orneriness

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade) by Mark Twain (1912)
"CHAPTER XXIII THE orneriness OF KINGS WELL, all day him and the king was hard at it, rigging up a stage and a curtain and a row of candles for footlights; ..."

2. Ill-Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness by Sasha Abramsky (2003)
""Disruptive or violent conduct may be a manifestation of illness or just orneriness. Quiet, seemingly introspective behavior may be just that or it may be ..."

3. The Gentleman from Indiana by Booth Tarkington (1902)
"They got together to wipe out their grudges—and sometimes they didn't need any grudge and let loose their deviltries just for pure orneriness; ..."

4. California Revisited. 1858-1897 by Thaddeus Stevens Kenderdine (1898)
"as Jack thought, but it was just his orneriness ; for all at once, takin' Jack unawares, and afore he could git his gun the greaser reached under the table, ..."

5. Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow (2005)
""How the hell do you become a User-Experience guy?" "Sheer orneriness," I say, grinning. "I was just in the right place at the right time. ..."

6. The Round-up: A Romance of Arizona Novelized from Edmund Day's Melodrama by John Murray, Marion Mills Miller, Edmund Day (1908)
""I like Bud, with all his orneriness," she declared. "Why doesn't he come to see you more often?" "I don't know, maybe it's because he's never forgiven, ..."

7. Heart of the Sunset by Rex Beach (1915)
"... of his own orneriness. Liquor has got enough to answer for without being blamed for human depravities. I dare say I was friendlier than I had any right ..."

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