ingrate
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ingrate
1350–1400; Middle English ingrat < Latin ingrātus ungrateful. See in- 3, grateful
Explanation
If your kind act of buying a donut for your friend gets you nothing but a complaint that the chocolate icing looks runny, then it sounds like your pal is an ingrate, someone who is not thankful for others' kindness. The noun ingrate comes for the Latin word ingratus, a combination of in-, meaning “not,” and gratus, or “grateful.” That pretty much sums up an ingrate: not grateful. It describes someone who tends to act this way in general, rarely acknowledging others' generosity, or even worse, seeming to expect special treatment. You can tell someone is an ingrate by what isn't said: "thank you" and "I appreciate what you've done for me."
Vocabulary lists containing ingrate
Negatives with "in"
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This Week in Words: October 1 - 6, 2017
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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.
The names they called me sting to this day: Eric the Ingrate.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2022
That we haue beene familiar, Ingrate forgetfulnesse shall poison rather Then pitty: Note how much, therefore be gone.
From Coriolanus by Shakespeare, William
Words which no ear ever to hear in Heaven Expected, least of all from thee, Ingrate, In place thyself so high above thy peers.
From Paradise Lost by Milton, John
Ingrate: Any person who has got something for nothing, and wants more on the same terms.
From The Roycroft Dictionary Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on Rainy Days. by Hubbard, Elbert
Loudly he cry'd for help, Arsaces heard, And thro' the swelling waves he rush'd to save His drowning Brother, and gave him life, And for the boon the Ingrate pays him hate.
From The Prince of Parthia A Tragedy by Moses, Montrose Jonas
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.
