ungrateful
adjective
un·grate·ful
ˌən-ˈgrāt-fəl 
1
: showing no gratitude : making a poor return
an ungrateful child
2
: disagreeable
also
: thankless
ungratefulness
noun
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
This might include attorneys familiar with offshore real estate deals, psychologists who can reconcile you with your ungrateful grandchildren, or art advisors like Newton, who sits on UBS’s family office team.
—
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024
Former employees recall that in a meeting and subsequent memo, Huffman described his detractors’ behavior as entitled and ungrateful, and told them to come to him privately with criticism.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
Perspective Carolyn Hax: Dad struggles with wedding toast to ‘selfish’ and ‘ungrateful’...
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024
After reading Paul Krugman’s column, I am again brought to the opinion that Americans are the most ungrateful people on God’s green earth.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2024
And please don't misinterpret my venting for being ungrateful.
—Christina Crawford, Parents, 7 Dec. 2023
Russia has long been skilled at manipulating divisions in Western societies and at exploiting those fissures for its benefit and has used the trucking issue to paint Ukrainians as ungrateful and untrustworthy, experts say.
—Marc Santora, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
He’s portrayed by Michael Fassbender as ungrateful and bitter, a chair-throwing alcoholic who is separated from his wife, initially pushes Saelua to quit the team and struggles to convince Salapu to play for him.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
Gratitude tie-in: Being ungrateful and rejecting food is doubly wasteful: of the food itself and of the caretaker’s work.
—Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Nov. 2023
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024
Former employees recall that in a meeting and subsequent memo, Huffman described his detractors’ behavior as entitled and ungrateful, and told them to come to him privately with criticism.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
Perspective Carolyn Hax: Dad struggles with wedding toast to ‘selfish’ and ‘ungrateful’...
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024
After reading Paul Krugman’s column, I am again brought to the opinion that Americans are the most ungrateful people on God’s green earth.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2024
And please don't misinterpret my venting for being ungrateful.
—Christina Crawford, Parents, 7 Dec. 2023
Russia has long been skilled at manipulating divisions in Western societies and at exploiting those fissures for its benefit and has used the trucking issue to paint Ukrainians as ungrateful and untrustworthy, experts say.
—Marc Santora, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
He’s portrayed by Michael Fassbender as ungrateful and bitter, a chair-throwing alcoholic who is separated from his wife, initially pushes Saelua to quit the team and struggles to convince Salapu to play for him.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
Gratitude tie-in: Being ungrateful and rejecting food is doubly wasteful: of the food itself and of the caretaker’s work.
—Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ungrateful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near ungrateful
Cite this Entry
“Ungrateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ungrateful. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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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
ungratefulness
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on ungrateful
Nglish: Translation of ungrateful for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of ungrateful for Arabic Speakers
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