ungrateful

adjective

un·​grate·​ful ˌən-ˈgrāt-fəl 

1

: showing no gratitude : making a poor return

an ungrateful child

2

: disagreeable

also : thankless

ungratefully

ˌən-ˈgrāt-fə-lē 

adverb

ungratefulness noun

Synonyms

• thankless
• unappreciated

Examples of ungrateful in a Sentence

I don't mean to seem ungrateful.

the park's custodial staff has the ungrateful job of cleaning up after the Independence Day party is over

Recent Examples on the Web

The billionaire tech and media mogul suggested earlier Thursday that Trump would not have gotten elected last fall without him and called him ungrateful. —Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 5 June 2025

The situation became even more tense when her father, who was visiting at the time, stepped in and accused her of being ungrateful. —Ashley Vega, People.com, 24 May 2025

But the talks blew up after JD Vance falsely accused Zelensky of being ungrateful. —Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025

And Rachel Zegler was accused of being ungrateful for her role as Snow White in Disney’s live action. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ungrateful

• fateful
• grateful
• hateful

Kids Definition

ungrateful

adjective

un·​grate·​ful ˌən-ˈgrāt-fəl 

ˈən-

1

: not thankful for favors

an ungrateful child

2

: not pleasing : disagreeable

an ungrateful task

ungratefully

-fə-lē 

adverb

ungratefulness noun