thankless

adjective thank·less \ ˈthaŋk-ləs \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Examples: thankless in a Sentence

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

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thanklessly

adverb

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thanklessness

noun

See thankless defined for English-language learners

See thankless defined for kids

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

Why did Vitali walk away from acting and devote himself to the thankless role of artistic handmaiden?

— ty burr, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Filmworker’ pays attention to the man behind the curtain," 23 May 2018
Even in normal times, the job is among the most thankless in government.

— massimo calabresi, Time, "Intelligence Director Dan Coats Is the Mild-Mannered Force the Trump Administration Needs," 22 May 2018
Most of them performed thankless jobs in the shadows.

— sam walker, WSJ, "Steve Kerr, the Golden State Warriors, and the Art of Sharing Power," 4 May 2018
The week of recognition begins May 8 and includes a series of events and social media campaigns aimed at recognizing teachers' often thankless work.

— fernando alfonso iii, Houston Chronicle, "Hilarious school memes in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week 2018," 4 May 2018
So often, shopping is a lonesome and thankless expedition.

— kara baskin, BostonGlobe.com, "Service with a smile — and a keen style sense — at La Mia Moda," 2 May 2018
But getting someone to risk their livelihoods and reputations to go into government service is always hard, but for a thankless task like running the VA?

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "Donald from Washington, you're on the line," 26 Apr. 2018
Playing goalkeeper in men’s lacrosse can in many ways be a thankless job.

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "Goalie Jacob Stover gets in on fun during Loyola Maryland’s 23-9 rout of Boston University," 14 Apr. 2018
The Wisconsin native has struggled to manage the often difficult and thankless task of wrangling the fractious Republican conference.

— Bloomberg.com, "House Speaker Paul Ryan Won't Seek Re-Election in Blow to GOP," 13 Apr. 2018

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.

First Known Use of thankless

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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thankless Synonyms

THANKLESS Defined for English Language Learners

thankless

adjective

Definition of thankless for English Language Learners

: difficult and not valued by other people
: not showing or feeling thanks

THANKLESS Defined for Kids

thankless

adjective thank·less \ ˈthaŋk-ləs \

Definition of thankless for Students

1 : ungrateful

2 : not appreciated

It's a necessary but thankless job.

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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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thankless

Definition of thankless

thanklessly

thanklessness

Examples of thankless in a Sentence

Recent Examples of thankless from the Web

First Known Use of thankless

thankless Synonyms

Synonyms

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THANKLESS Defined for English Language Learners

thankless

Definition of thankless for English Language Learners

THANKLESS Defined for Kids

thankless

Definition of thankless for Students

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