# grateful

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ʊ)l/ · frequency rank #3,947

## Definitions
1. Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful.
2. Of a thing or (obsolete) person: pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable, pleasant, welcome.

## Etymology
From grate (“(obsolete) serving to gratify, agreeable, pleasing; grateful, thankful”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives with the sense of tending to have or thoroughly having a quality). Grate is a learned borrowing from Latin grātus (“agreeable, pleasing; beloved, dear; grateful, thankful”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- (“to express approval, praise; to elevate”).

## Easily confused with
- **gratefully** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/grateful-vs-gratefully)
- **graceful** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/graceful-vs-grateful)

## Common misspellings (12)
`garteful`, `ggrateful`, `graetful`, `gratefful`, `grateflu`, `gratefull`, `grateufl`, `gratfeul`, `gratteful`, `grrateful`, `grtaeful`, `rgateful`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/grateful