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
William Shakespeare
thanklessly
adverb
thanklessness
noun
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
Motherhood had been billed as a thankless slog that would cannibalize my career and rot my identity.
—Jessica Knoll, Vogue, 9 Aug. 2024
Howery has the thankless task of laughing at everything Levi says, an insurmountable acting challenge made that much harder by the fact that Levi delivers all of his lines with the same bug-eyed enthusiasm of a kid in a toy commercial.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 31 July 2024
And the first term’s mistakes overshadowed all, tarnishing the country’s reputation, souring its relationships, and trapping it in thankless, seemingly endless foreign interventions.
—Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 5 July 2017
Guinevere, usually relegated to the thankless role of traitorous wife, acts here as Arthur’s beloved confidante.
—Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for thankless 
Jessica Knoll, Vogue, 9 Aug. 2024
Howery has the thankless task of laughing at everything Levi says, an insurmountable acting challenge made that much harder by the fact that Levi delivers all of his lines with the same bug-eyed enthusiasm of a kid in a toy commercial.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 31 July 2024
And the first term’s mistakes overshadowed all, tarnishing the country’s reputation, souring its relationships, and trapping it in thankless, seemingly endless foreign interventions.
—Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 5 July 2017
Guinevere, usually relegated to the thankless role of traitorous wife, acts here as Arthur’s beloved confidante.
—Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for thankless
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thankless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near thankless
Cite this Entry
“Thankless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thankless. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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