grateful

[greyt-fuhl]

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

grateful

/ ˈɡreɪtfʊl /

adjective

1. thankful for gifts, favours, etc; appreciative

2. showing gratitude

   a grateful letter

3. favourable or pleasant

   a grateful rest

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of grateful¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of grateful¹

C16: from obsolete grate, from Latin grātus + _-ful

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

She notes there are still plenty of grateful trick-or-treaters out there.

Read more on MarketWatch

So far at least no has, and for that, I’m grateful.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I’m so grateful to him; he really gave me an opportunity that changed my life,” she told The Times in 2012.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Following the fire, Abbie said the response from the community has been "unbelievable" and she is "grateful" for their help.

Read more on BBC

He liked to make people smile and feel as grateful for life as he did, and that was the place his massive influence was born.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• beholden 
• indebted 
• pleased www.thesaurus.com
• thankful 

When To Use

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.