Definition of thankless
1 : not likely to obtain thanks : unappreciated a thankless task
2 : not expressing or feeling gratitude : ungrateful how sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child — William Shakespeare
thanklessly
adverbthanklessness
nounExplore M-W
Examples of thankless in a Sentence
a thankless boss who seems oblivious to the extra effort his subordinates have made
the thankless job of cleaning up after a party
Recent Examples of thankless from the Web
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Miranda Richardson has the thankless role of Churchill's wife, who has to put up with those cigars and mood swings.
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Miranda Richardson has the thankless role of Churchill’s wife, who has to put up with those cigars and mood swings.
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The handful of men who carry out the most thankless of tasks for the Pittsburgh Penguins are a rag-tag group thrown together by circumstance and a touch of foresight by general manager Jim Rutherford.
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Hall’s real-life husband, Clifton Hall, also is moving in the rather thankless role of Diana’s well-meaning but benighted husband, Dan.
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In a culture that rewards previously-thankless replications, a solid organizational scaffold like the Open Science Framework would be indispensable.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thankless'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
15th Century
First Known Use of thankless
15th century
THANKLESS Defined for English Language Learners
thankless
playDefinition of thankless for English Language Learners
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: difficult and not valued by other people
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: not showing or feeling thanks
THANKLESS Defined for Kids
thankless
playDefinition of thankless for Students
1 : ungrateful
2 : not appreciated It's a necessary but thankless job.
Learn More about thankless
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for thankless Spanish Central: Translation of thankless Nglish: Translation of thankless for Spanish speakers
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