1
as in ungrateful
not showing gratitude
a thankless boss who seems oblivious to the extra effort his subordinates have made
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unnoticed
not likely to be appreciated by those who benefit
the thankless job of cleaning up after a party
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of thankless
One running theme: Serving on a board is a grueling, thankless job, and also, serving on a board is a gateway to megalomania, corruption, and petty infighting.
—
Curbed Editors, Curbed, 19 Aug. 2025
Whitaker, meanwhile, has a thankless role as an empath whose narrative function flips between making improbable, almost psychic pronouncements, and stating the painfully obvious.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 7 July 2025
Being a backup goalkeeper is a difficult and generally thankless job.
—Matt Pyzdrowski, New York Times, 11 June 2025
His ex-wife, Amber-Linn (Judy Greer, queen of the thankless wife and mother roles), is trying to sell their house, after giving Pryce two years to move out.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for thankless
Curbed Editors, Curbed, 19 Aug. 2025
Whitaker, meanwhile, has a thankless role as an empath whose narrative function flips between making improbable, almost psychic pronouncements, and stating the painfully obvious.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 7 July 2025
Being a backup goalkeeper is a difficult and generally thankless job.
—Matt Pyzdrowski, New York Times, 11 June 2025
His ex-wife, Amber-Linn (Judy Greer, queen of the thankless wife and mother roles), is trying to sell their house, after giving Pryce two years to move out.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for thankless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thankless
Adjective
-
Old fogey-ish, ungrateful and stupid.—
Katie Hafner,
Scientific American,
10 Sep. 2025
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Behind the screens are two apartment buildings, undoubtedly ungrateful to such loud and bright entertainment provided free of charge.—
Joe Joyce,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Bassini totes around point-and-shoot cameras, lately a Yashica T4 or Contax T2, that are compact enough to go unnoticed in his pocket but draw a nostalgic reaction from models and actors.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
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This is systemic underutilization—a quiet drain on workforce ROI that can go unnoticed for months, even years.—
Heidi Farris,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These particular coffee-shop customers picked the wrong day to be rude, though.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, the Lions give a rude welcome back to Ben Johnson, while the 49ers run over the Saints.—
Vic Tafur,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Not Recognizing Contributions Not recognizing employees leaves them feeling invisible and unappreciated, which can lead to low morale.—
Elizabeth Semion,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
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De Ligt — who turned 26 before the new Premier League season — is good at doing the dirty parts that can go unappreciated.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Apparently, the jabs and insults from his unappreciative guest kept coming.—
Gil Macias,
People.com,
3 Jan. 2025
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Complaining about the food, comparing it to other meals, or ignoring efforts made by the host also comes across as disrespectful and unappreciative.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
28 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Thankless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thankless. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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