grateful

[greyt-fuhl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grateful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful: I am grateful to you for your help.

expressing or actuated by gratitude: a grateful letter.

pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable or welcome; refreshing: a grateful breeze.

Origin of grateful

1545–55; obsolete grate pleasing (< Latin grātus) + -ful

Related formsgrate·ful·ly, adverbgrate·ful·ness, nouno·ver·grate·ful, adjectiveo·ver·grate·ful·ly, adverbo·ver·grate·ful·ness, nounqua·si-grate·ful, adjectivequa·si-grate·ful·ly, adverb

Can be confusedgrateful gratified (see synonym study at the current entry)

Synonyms for grateful

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grateful ON THESAURUS.COM

1. obliged, indebted. 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. 3. pleasant, gratifying, satisfying.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for grateful

thankful, pleased, beholden, indebted, gratifying, acceptable, good, favorable, obliged, gratified, agreeable, comforting, congenial, delectable, delicious, delightful, desirable, pleasant, pleasurable, refreshing

Examples from the Web for grateful

Contemporary Examples of grateful

As I am in most restaurants, I was grateful for any modifications that could be made.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed
Emily Shire
December 17, 2014
They provide their own assistance and we are grateful to them for this.
Ukraine Militias Warn of Anti-Kiev Coup
Jamie Dettmer
November 28, 2014
She realized that turkeys have, as she puts it, “nothing to be grateful for” each year on the last Thursday of November.
A Turkey's View of Thanksgiving
The Daily Beast Video
November 26, 2014
After walking museum hallways my entire life, I am grateful for the opportunity to be on the other side of the wall.
Blurred Lines at NY Sketchbook Museum
Daniel Genis
November 1, 2014
They can only be grateful to be equipped and trained with full body hazmat suits complete with hooded face masks.
Ebola Nurses Are As Brave As Soldiers
Michael Daly
October 17, 2014

Historical Examples of grateful

"You needn't trouble yourself to be grateful," returned Robert, coolly.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Let us meet them with faith and courage, with patience and a grateful and happy heart.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
We are grateful to you, Ted and I, for having been so forbearing in the past.
The Raid From Beausejour; And How The Carter Boys Lifted The Mortgage
Charles G. D. Roberts
And I know papa will be so grateful to you for all your kindness to me!
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
How could I have imagined that a young noble would be grateful, or a wanton true?
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris

British Dictionary definitions for grateful

grateful

adjective

thankful for gifts, favours, etc; appreciative

showing gratitudea grateful letter

favourable or pleasanta grateful rest

Derived Formsgratefully, adverbgratefulness, noun

Word Origin for grateful

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for grateful

adj.

1550s, "pleasing to the mind," also "full of gratitude," from obsolete adj. grate "agreeable, thankful," from Latin gratus "pleasing" (see grace). "A most unusual formation" [Weekley]. Hard to think of another case where English uses -ful to make an adjective from an adjective. Related: Gratefully; gratefulness.