thankless

adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"thankless" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thankless” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,812. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,812
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - not appreciated or rewarded

Corpus desk

Index EN-thankless · thankless · English

thankless · rank #46,812 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,812
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tenner

Nearest frequency peer: tenner (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “thankless”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “thankless” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for thankless
PropertyValue
Headwordthankless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters9
Frequency rank#46,812
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “thankless”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).thanklesslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “tenner” (#46,810), “taxidermy” (#46,808), “tass” (#46,807). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “thankless” is #46,812. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around thankless, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #46,812 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for thankless, with forms such as "htankless", "tahnkless", and "thaknless". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English thankles, equivalent to thank + -less. The correct English form is thankless, spelled T-H-A-N-K-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    not appreciated or rewarded
  2. 2
    ungrateful or unappreciative

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how thankless appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In a raucous atmosphere, it was an unforgiving and physical contest from the start. Grant Hanley conceded the first free-kick within the opening 20 seconds, setting the tone for a busy and thankless evening for Serbian referee Milorad Mazic.

Etymology

From Middle English thankles, equivalent to thank + -less.

Antonyms

thankful

This word in other languages

ingrato(Español)undankbar(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htankless
  • tahnkless
  • thaknless
  • thankelss
  • thankkless
  • thankles
  • thanklless
  • thanklses
  • thanlkess
  • thannkless
  • thhankless
  • thnakless
  • tthankless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of thankless - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

htankless2tahnkless2thaknless2thankelss2thankkless1thankles1thanklless1thanklses2
Edit distance from "thankless"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "thankless"?
"thankless" is spelled T-H-A-N-K-L-E-S-S.
What does "thankless" mean?
As an adjective, "thankless" means: not appreciated or rewarded
What are common misspellings of "thankless"?
Common misspellings include "htankless", "tahnkless", "thaknless", "thankelss", "thankkless". The correct spelling is "thankless".
What is the origin of the word "thankless"?
From Middle English thankles, equivalent to thank + -less. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "thankless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

taxidermy#46,808Tillerson#46,817storeroom#46,795statuette#46,792

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

undoubted13 variantsstandish13 variantsSotomayor13 variantsSnodgrass13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list