thankless

adjective

thank·less ˈthaŋk-ləs

Synonyms of thankless next

: not likely to obtain thanks : unappreciated

a thankless task

: not expressing or feeling gratitude : ungrateful

how sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child—

William Shakespeare

thanklessly adverb

thanklessness noun

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 on the Web In all seriousness, though, the speakership seems to me like a thankless, nearly impossible job right now, given the slim majority Republicans are working with. —

Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023 Evacuating senior holdouts from front-line regions is a particularly tricky – and at times thankless – task. —

Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Oct. 2023 Soon enough, Ivanka was on the witness stand, once again in the thankless role of cleaning up her father’s mess. —

Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2023 Lucy DeVito does a thoroughly commendable job in a fairly thankless role, and as a concerned neighbor, Ray Anthony Thomas is a valuable addition, providing a sympathetic ear for Sam. —

Peter Marks, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023 Salazar brings life and charm to a role that, in another biopic, could have been pretty thankless. —

Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023 Tucker and his fellow placekickers have an often thankless job. —

Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 11 Aug. 2023 The movie’s achievement is to remind us that milestones are invariably the result of hard, often thankless work, preceded by conflict and marked by compromise. —

Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2023 The Best Lovejoy: A 2:25 p.m. slot is often a thankless one at a big festival, but the Lovejoys pulled it off in front of an enthusiastic crowd in what was one of the most impressive sets of the weekend. —

Daniel Kohn, Spin, 14 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thankless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.