ungrateful
/ʌnˈɡɹeɪtfəl/adjective, noun
ungrateful is spelled U-N-G-R-A-T-E-F-U-L: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ungrateful means “Not grateful; not expressing gratitude” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ungrateful?
| Letters | 10: U-N-G-R-A-T-E-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ungrateful?
Ungrateful appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ungrateful?
- /ʌnˈɡɹeɪtfəl/
Ungrateful has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-ungrateful.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ungrateful
- more ungrateful comparative
- most ungrateful superlative
- ungratefuls plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ungrateful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not grateful; not expressing gratitude.
Near-synonyms: unappreciative, unthankful
- 2
Disagreeable, repellent, unpleasant.
noun
- 1
A person who fails to show gratitude; an ingrate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ungrateful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense not grateful:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ingrat |
| German | undankbar |
| Portuguese | ingrato, mal-agradecido |
| Spanish | desagradecido, ingrato, malagradecido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ungrateful come from?
From un- + grateful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).