grateful

American  

[grayt-fuhl] / ˈgreɪt fəl /

adjective

1. 

   warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful.

   I am grateful to you for your help.

   Synonyms:

   indebted, obliged

2. expressing or actuated by gratitude.

   a grateful letter.

3. pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable; welcome.

   a grateful breeze;

   The peace and calm of the hill country is a grateful relief.

   Synonyms:

   gratifying, pleasant

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grateful British  

/ ˈɡreɪtfʊl /

adjective

1. thankful for gifts, favours, etc; appreciative

2. showing gratitude

   a grateful letter

3. favourable or pleasant

   a grateful rest

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Usage

Spelling tips for grateful The word grateful is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it is tempting to spell grate- "great." Second, people often want to add an additional l to the end of the word -ful. How to spell grateful: When you are grateful, you are full of gratitude. The beginning of the words are similar. This helps you remember that grateful is spelled grate- instead of great-. It's important to be grateful for what Little you have, which is why you only need one l at the end of the word.

Synonym Usage

Grateful, thankful describe an appreciative attitude for what one has received. Grateful indicates a warm or deep appreciation of personal kindness as shown to one: grateful for favors; grateful to one's neighbors for help in time of trouble. Thankful indicates a disposition to express gratitude by giving thanks, as to a benefactor or to a merciful Providence; there is often a sense of deliverance as well as of appreciation: thankful that one's life was spared in an accident; thankful for the comfort of one's general situation.

Other Word Forms

• gratefulness
  noun
• overgrateful
  adjective
• quasi-grateful
  adjective
• gratefully
  adverb
• overgratefully
  adverb
• quasi-gratefully
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of grateful

First recorded in 1545–55; obsolete grate “pleasing” (from Latin grātus ) + -ful

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Compare meaning

How does grateful compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• grateful vs. thankful
• gratitude vs. grateful

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Explanation

A person who is grateful feels or shows gratitude. If your neighbor brings you soup when you're sick, you'll be very grateful (unless you hate soup). Grateful comes from gratus, Latin for pleasing. Originally it meant pleasing, or agreeable (Walter Scott wrote of "the grateful and cooling shade"), but now means thankful. Usually you are grateful to someone for a particular thing she's done. If you're complaining about all your problems, someone might remind you of what you have to be grateful for.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grateful

"We are grateful to the American side for the information provided," the FSB was quoted as saying.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

“I’m sure she’s very grateful for it, and it makes me feel good.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026

But I was grateful for the assist since I had so little sleep on the red-eye flight that my Oura ring recorded it as a nap!

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

“I was grateful, and I showed up and did my four lines.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

For now, know that your father and I miss you terribly, but I am grateful you are getting to have this experience.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

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Related Words

• beholden
• indebted
• pleased
• thankful

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