Meaning & use
grateful
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Feeling or showing thanks because someone has done something kind or useful for you.
Grammar: Followed by for (the thing) or to (the person): grateful to you for your help.
Patterns
- grateful for something
- grateful to someone
- grateful that...
I'm grateful for all the help you've given me.
She was grateful to her neighbors for looking after the cats.
We are grateful that so many people could attend.
Word forms
| comparative | more grateful |
|---|---|
| superlative | most grateful |
Common combinations
- deeply grateful
- I am deeply grateful for your support.
- grateful for the opportunity
- She was grateful for the opportunity to study abroad.
- grateful to someone
- We are grateful to everyone who volunteered.
- eternally grateful
- I'll be eternally grateful for what you did.
- grateful thanks
- The organizers expressed grateful thanks to the sponsors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- thankful
- Very close in meaning; thankful is slightly more everyday and often expresses relief, while grateful recognizes kindness.
- appreciative
- Shows that you value something; appreciative can apply to art or help, while grateful is directed at a person or fate.
- obliged
- As in 'much obliged,' it is a mild, old-fashioned expression; it can also mean required to do something, so context matters.
Opposites
Word family
- gratitude noun
- The feeling of being grateful; thankfulness.
- gratefully adverb
- In a grateful way.
- ungrateful adjective
- Not showing thanks; the opposite of grateful.
Commonly confused: grateful or gratified?
grateful vs gratified
Gratified means pleased because a wish or expectation was satisfied; grateful means thankful for a kindness received.
Practice
We are very grateful ___ your generous donation.
Choose one answer.
Use 'for' before the thing received (your donation); 'to' is used before a person, as in grateful to you.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “grateful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.