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

Only a few players doing the game’s thankless tasks reach a level of universal praise akin to the one Girma has. —Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025

His makeshift solution is a thankless job helping an art critic (a gloriously unhinged Tilda Swinton) assemble the works of her cryogenically frozen husband (RZA). —Jason Bailey, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025

Sign up for Axios Communicators Scott Rosenberg Jan 8, 2025 - Business Zuckerberg and Meta say good riddance to fact-checking Distinguishing truth from falsehood is frustrating, endless, thankless work — and now Mark Zuckerberg is walking away from it. —Ina Fried, Axios, 9 Jan. 2025

Trying to lead a fractious caucus with only a few votes to spare is always going to be a thankless job. —The Editors, National Review, 2 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