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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

• ungratefully adverb
• ungratefulness noun

Etymology

Origin of ungrateful

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

Example Sentences

I don’t recall paying for a meal on either of my previous visits, but why seem ungrateful by mentioning it?

From Literature

I don’t want to seem rude or ungrateful though, so I sip at it.

From Literature

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

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

From MarketWatch

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

Related Words

• selfish