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Synonyms

ungrateful

American  
[uhn-greyt-fuhl] / ʌnˈgreɪt fəl /

adjective

  1. unappreciative; not displaying gratitude; not giving due return or recompense for benefits conferred.

    ungrateful heirs.

  2. unpleasant; distasteful; repellent.

    an ungrateful task.
ungrateful British  
/ ʌnˈɡreɪtfʊl /

adjective

  1. not grateful or thankful

  2. unrewarding or unpleasant; thankless

  3. (of land) failing to increase fertility in response to cultivation

"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

Other Word Forms

  • ungratefully adverb
  • ungratefulness noun

Etymology

Origin of ungrateful

First recorded in 1545–55; un- 1 + grateful

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

“The development of this competition brought not only an unpleasant atmosphere, but also an ungrateful one.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

They're like, 'Leicester fans are so ungrateful, they're so entitled.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2025

All righ’, come in then, yeh ungrateful little...”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

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.