Meaning & use
gratitude for
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
A feeling of being thankful and appreciative because of something kind that someone has done.
Grammar: Used with a noun or -ing form after 'for': gratitude for your help / for helping me.
Patterns
- gratitude for something
- gratitude for doing something
- express gratitude for something
She felt deep gratitude for her parents' support during college.
He expressed his gratitude for the award in a short speech.
We owe a debt of gratitude for the volunteers who helped clean up.
Common combinations
- express gratitude for
- The mayor expressed gratitude for the community's quick response.
- deep gratitude for
- I have deep gratitude for everything you've done.
- show gratitude for
- It's important to show gratitude for small kindnesses.
- feel gratitude for
- She felt gratitude for the second chance she was given.
- a debt of gratitude for
- We owe a debt of gratitude for their years of service.
Synonyms and how they differ
- thankfulness for
- Very similar, but 'thankfulness' is slightly more emotional and less formal.
- appreciation for
- Often used for recognizing value; 'gratitude' is more about feeling thankful to someone.
- thanks for
- More informal and direct; 'gratitude' is a deeper, more lasting feeling.
Opposites
Word family
- grateful adjective
- Feeling or showing thanks.
- gratitude noun
- The noun form, always uncountable.
- gratuitous adjective
- Unnecessary and unwanted; not related in meaning.
Commonly confused: gratitude for or gratitude to? gratitude for or ingratitude?
gratitude for vs gratitude to
Use 'gratitude to' before a person (gratitude to my teacher) and 'gratitude for' before a thing or action (gratitude for the gift).
gratitude for vs ingratitude
Ingratitude is the opposite: lack of thankfulness. Don't confuse it with gratitude.
Practice
She wrote a card to show her ______ all the help he had given her.
Choose one answer.
Gratitude for is used before the thing you are thankful for (the help). Gratitude to would be used before the person (him), but here the object is the help.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gratitude for”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.