ingratitude
/in'grætitju:d/
Definition
- Noun:
- A lack of gratitude; the state of being ungrateful: The quality or condition of not showing or feeling thankfulness for kindness or benefits received.
Usage
- General Use: Used to describe the character trait or specific act of being unthankful.
- Formal Context: Often appears in formal writing, moral discussions, or literature to criticize a failure to acknowledge kindness.
- Common Patterns: Typically used with verbs like "show", "display", "meet with", or "repay with".
Examples
Advanced Usage
- "Ungrateful" vs. "Ingratitude": "Ungrateful" is the adjective describing a person who lacks gratitude (e.g., ). "Ingratitude" is the noun naming the abstract quality or the specific instance of that behavior.
- Literary/Proverbial Use: Often cited as a vice or a profound human flaw.
- "Ingratitude is the essence of vileness." - Immanuel Kant
- "Ingratitude is a form of weakness. I have never known a man of real ability to be ungrateful." - Goethe
Variants and Related Words
- Ungratefulness (noun): A direct synonym for ingratitude, though slightly less formal.
- His ungratefulness knew no bounds.
- Thanklessness (noun): A close synonym emphasizing the absence of thanks.
- Ingrate (noun, archaic/formal): A person characterized by ingratitude.
- He was branded an ingrate by his former patrons.
Synonyms
- Ungratefulness
- Thanklessness
- Unthankfulness
Antonyms
- Gratitude
- Thankfulness
- Appreciation
- Gratefulness
Idioms and Phrases
- To show/display ingratitude: To act in an ungrateful manner.
- He showed nothing but ingratitude for their sacrifices.
- To repay/meet with ingratitude: To have one's kindness returned with a lack of thanks.
- Her kindness was met with cold ingratitude.
- A sin of ingratitude: Framing ingratitude as a moral failing.
- Forgetting their help would be a sin of ingratitude.
Noun
-
a lack of gratitude
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ trái nghĩa
