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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.

Related: My rude, ungrateful relative gave her lawyer power of attorney — and has lived to regret it.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026

To a devoted friend, such as Edward FitzGerald, the translator of the “Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám,” who supported him for years, Tennyson could be rude, cold and ungrateful.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

"They are ungrateful," said Suryani, a 48-year-old local.

From BBC • Dec. 6, 2023

I know this is coming from a good place, and I don’t want to come off as ungrateful, but my issues with this are threefold.

From Slate • Nov. 3, 2023

“Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?”

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

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.