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

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

However, leadership—the delicate, thankless art of managing egos, fostering buy-in, and instilling belief—is often overlooked. —Brian Sampson, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024

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

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