ungrateful
Americanadjective
-
unappreciative; not displaying gratitude; not giving due return or recompense for benefits conferred.
ungrateful heirs.
-
unpleasant; distasteful; repellent.
an ungrateful task.
adjective
-
not grateful or thankful
-
unrewarding or unpleasant; thankless
-
(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.
What no one in the diaspora is saying yet, because it feels ungrateful to say, is that exile itself became a home.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
Related: My rude, ungrateful relative gave her lawyer power of attorney — and has lived to regret it.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026
But some California leaders see Musk’s stance as ungrateful for the role the state has played in supporting his successes, particularly at Tesla and SpaceX.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2024
The 54-year-old has just starred in Doctor Cha, a Netflix series about a middle-aged woman who decides to complete her medical training and start work after 20 years of looking after her ungrateful family.
From BBC • Dec. 9, 2023
That was ungrateful, I thought, but I did as she said.
From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
