ungrateful
Americanadjective
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unappreciative; not displaying gratitude; not giving due return or recompense for benefits conferred.
ungrateful heirs.
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unpleasant; distasteful; repellent.
an ungrateful task.
adjective
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not grateful or thankful
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unrewarding or unpleasant; thankless
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(of land) failing to increase fertility in response to cultivation
Other Word Forms
- ungratefully adverb
- ungratefulness noun
Etymology
Origin of ungrateful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Related: My rude, ungrateful relative gave her lawyer power of attorney — and has lived to regret it.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026
To a devoted friend, such as Edward FitzGerald, the translator of the “Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám,” who supported him for years, Tennyson could be rude, cold and ungrateful.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
Online comments have been predictably divided: while some have called him "spoiled" and "ungrateful" towards David and Victoria Beckham, others have applauded the 26-year-old for standing up for himself and prioritising his mental health.
From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026
I know this is coming from a good place, and I don’t want to come off as ungrateful, but my issues with this are threefold.
From Slate • Nov. 3, 2023
There was always a degree of tension as we tried to communicate what we needed: We didn’t want to appear rude or ungrateful, but we didn’t want to buy food that we would not eat.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
