Grateful Meaning
/ˈɡɹeɪtf(ʊ)l/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful.
adjOf a thing or (obsolete) person: pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable, pleasant, welcome.
Sentence Examples
I am very grateful to you for your help.
I am grateful to you for inviting me to the party.
Thank you for doing this. I really am so grateful.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
After getting help from her friend, she felt very ____ and happy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am very ____ for all the help and support you have given me during this very difficult time.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I cannot giue thee leſſe to be cal'd gratefull: / Thou thoughtſt to helpe me, and ſuch thankes I giue, / As one neere death to thoſe that vviſh him liue: […]"
— c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 236, column 1:
"They ſat them dovvn, and after no more toil / Of thir ſvveet Gardning labour then ſuffic'd / To recommend coole Zephyr, and made eaſe / More eaſie, vvholſom thirſt and appetite / More grateful, to thir Supper Fruits they fell, / Nectarine Fruits vvhich the compliant boughes / Yeilded them, ſide-long as they ſat recline / On the ſoft dovvnie Bank damaskt vvith flours: […]"
— 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature [M4], recto, lines 327–334:
"Ye Nations, vvho the Globe divide, / Ye num'rous Nations ſcatter'd vvide, / To God your grateful Voices raiſe: […]"
— 1739, John Wesley, Charles Wesley, “Psalm CXVII”, in Hymns and Sacred Poems, London: […] William Strahan; and sold by James Hutton, […]; and at Mr. Bray’s, […], →OCLC, part II, stanza I, page 139:
"VVhen ſhe and I vvere alone, ſhe took grateful notice of the concluding part of the third Letter; vvhere ſhe is mentioned vvith ſo much tenderneſs, and in a manner ſo vvorthy of the character of the politeſt of men, as vvel reſpecting herſelf as her Sex, […]"
— 1753 (indicated as 1754), [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXXIII. Continuation of Lady G.’s Letter to Lady L.”, in The History of Sir Charles Grandison. […], volume IV, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by C. Hitch and L. Hawes, […], →OCLC, page 239:
"[T]he noble secretary had not only been given a choice toast, sung a choice song, and been hailed by the grateful plaudits of all present; but had proceeded in his attempt to fulfil the pledge which he had given at the gate to the very letter, by calling out lustily for a bottle of Geisenheim, lemons, brandy, and a bowl."
— 1827, [Benjamin Disraeli], chapter I, in Vivian Grey, volume IV, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, book VI, page 22:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After getting help from her friend, she felt very ____ and happy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am very ____ for all the help and support you have given me during this very difficult time.