Meanings
comparative more unthankful · superlative most unthankful
- Not thankful; ungrateful.
Guido has made me fanciful. I am unthankful for the good which has really fallen to our share. Henriette is very, very kind—how glad I ought to be of such powerful protection!
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 170
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivenot feeling or showing gratitude
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishunþancful
- Middle Englishunthankful
- Englishunthankful
From Middle English unthankful, from Old English unþancful, unþancfull, unġeþancfull (“unthankful, ungrateful”), equivalent to un- + thankful. Cognate with Old High German undankfol (“unthankful, ungrateful”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀχάριστος
- ἀχάριστος (akháristos)not thankful — see also ungrateful
Bulgarian неблагодарен
- неблагодарен (neblagodaren)not thankful — see also ungrateful
Hindi कृतघ्न, अकृतज्ञ
- कृतघ्न (kŕtaghna)not thankful — see also ungrateful
- अकृतज्ञ (akŕtajña)not thankful — see also ungrateful
Cite this entry
unthankful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unthankful
“unthankful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unthankful. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unthankful,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unthankful.
Source: unthankful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.