thankless

adjective

thank·​less ˈthaŋk-ləs 

1

: not likely to obtain thanks : unappreciated

a thankless task

2

: not expressing or feeling gratitude : ungrateful

how sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child

—William Shakespeare

thanklessly adverb

thanklessness noun

Synonyms

• unappreciative
• ungrateful

Examples of thankless in a Sentence

a thankless boss who seems oblivious to the extra effort his subordinates have made

the thankless job of cleaning up after a party

Recent Examples on the Web

As Joey Locke, the overworked window washer frustrated with her thankless job in a corporate building, Ridley deploys the same glower for every challenge her character faces. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025

Huemer has lived in both worlds—the smoky salons of 1980s New York, where ideas swirled like cigarette smoke, and the industrial trenches, where change is brutal, slow, and often thankless. —Kody Boye, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2025

Its future business will be making fleets of self-driving taxis and humanoid robots trained for thankless manual labor. —Patrick George, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025

Under President Biden, Zients had the high-stakes, thankless role of COVID response coordinator, helping lead the U.S. back. —Axios, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

thankless

adjective

thank·​less ˈthaŋ-kləs 

1

: not appreciated by others

a thankless job

2

: not showing or feeling gratitude

thanklessly adverb

thanklessness noun