thanklessly
thanklessly — 副詞
1. carrying out a hard or unwanted duty and getting no recognition or expression of
無感謝地
付出卻無人感謝的
carrying out a hard or unwanted duty and getting no recognition or expression of gratitude in return — for instance, a volunteer who spends all weekend at a shelter and leaves without a single person saying 'thank you'.
The night-shift nurses worked thanklessly through the storm, making sure every patient was safe.
夜班護理師在暴風雨中無感謝地默默工作，確保每一位患者都平安無事。
worked + thanklessly + through [difficult circumstance]
Camila cleaned the public restrooms thanklessly for fifteen years without anyone saying thank you.
Camila 十五年來無感謝地打掃公共廁所，從來沒有人對她說過一句謝謝。
Volunteers at the dog shelter feed and wash the animals thanklessly during every holiday weekend.
動物收容所的志工在每個週末假期無感謝地餵食和清洗動物。
verb + thanklessly + time phrase — doing unrecognised work
Theo repaired the village's only water pump thanklessly, then walked home in the dark.
Theo 無感謝地修好了村裡唯一的水泵，然後在黑暗中步行回家。
- work thanklessly
- serve thanklessly
- help thanklessly
- toil thanklessly
- unappreciated
adjective describing the work or effort, not the manner of doing it
- unacknowledged
focuses on the lack of recognition rather than the lack of gratitude
- without reward
broader — includes material reward, not just thanks
- appreciatively
implies gratitude is expressed while the action happens
- gratefully
adverb of the action-taker's attitude, not the recipient's
文法句型
[verb] + thanklessly
thanklessly + [verb]
2. accepting or receiving something from someone without thanking them or showing a
不感恩
接受卻不道謝的
accepting or receiving something from someone without thanking them or showing any gratitude in return — acting as if the kindness was expected rather than generous.
The old man next door accepted the food his neighbour had brought thanklessly and shut the door without speaking.
隔壁的老人毫不感恩地收下鄰居帶來的食物，二話不說就把門關上了。
accepted + [something] + thanklessly — taking without acknowledgement
Children grabbed the snacks their aunt had baked and ate them thanklessly, leaving crumbs everywhere.
孩子們不感恩地抓起姑姑烘焙的點心就吃，碎屑掉得到處都是。
Linh took the promotion and extra pay thanklessly, never thanking the team who supported her.
Linh 不感恩地接受了升職和加薪，從未感謝過支持她的團隊。
took + [benefit] + thanklessly — receiving advantage without gratitude
Hui borrowed Vikram's car every weekend thanklessly and returned it with an empty tank.
Hui 每個週末都不感恩地向 Vikram 借車，而且每次都把油箱開到見底才還。
- accept thanklessly
- take thanklessly
- receive thanklessly
- eat thanklessly
- use thanklessly
- ungratefully
more common synonym; 'thanklessly' is less frequent and more literary
- without gratitude
phrasal equivalent, less compact
- gratefully
showing thanks toward the giver
- thankfully
expressing relief or gratitude
文法句型
[verb] + thanklessly
thanklessly + [verb]
用法筆記
This sense describes the receiver's lack of gratitude, whereas adverb sense 1 describes the giver's lack of recognition. Compare: 'She worked thanklessly' (no one thanked her) vs. 'She took the money thanklessly' (she did not thank anyone).
常見錯誤
thanklessly — 形容詞
- thanklesslypositive
- more thanklesslycomparative
- most thanklesslysuperlative
1. describing a job, duty, or effort that is unlikely to bring thanks or appreciati
吃力不討好
做了也得不到感謝的
describing a job, duty, or effort that is unlikely to bring thanks or appreciation from others, even when done well.
Refereeing a children's football match is a thankless job that few parents want.
在兒童足球賽中當裁判是一份吃力不討好的工作，很少有家長願意做。
thankless job — noun pattern for unappreciated roles
Theo took on the thankless task of telling unhappy customers that their orders were delayed.
Theo 承擔了吃力不討好的任務：通知不滿的顧客他們的訂單延遲了。
thankless task of + [gerund phrase]
Organising the annual family reunion was a thankless effort that exhausted Linh completely.
籌辦年度家庭團聚到頭來成了一項吃力不討好的苦差，讓 Linh 筋疲力竭。
Correcting student essays late at night is a thankless but necessary part of the job.
深夜批改學生作文是這份工作裡吃力不討好卻又不可或缺的一環。
thankless but necessary — common contrastive pattern
- thankless job
- thankless task
- thankless role
- thankless work
- thankless duty
- thankless effort
- unappreciated
focuses on the result (not appreciated) rather than the likelihood (unlikely to be appreciated)
- unrewarding
broader — may refer to any lack of reward, not just thanks
- unacknowledged
emphasises the absence of recognition
- rewarding
implies the effort brings satisfaction or appreciation
- appreciated
the effort is recognised and valued
文法句型
thankless + [noun: job/task/role]
be + thankless
用法筆記
This sense only applies to tasks, roles, or efforts — not to people. To describe a person who does not show gratitude, use adjective sense 2 (ungrateful).
常見錯誤
2. describing a person who does not express or feel gratitude for what others have
不領情
不心懷感激的人或態度
describing a person who does not express or feel gratitude for what others have done for them — acting as if kindness is owed to them.
Despite everything Folake had done, her thankless niece never sent a single note.
Folake 付出了那麼多，她那不領情的姪女卻連一張卡片都沒寄過。
thankless + [family role] — ungrateful person
The thankless child complained about every present he opened at his birthday party.
這個不領情的孩子對生日派對上收到的每一份禮物都要抱怨。
A thankless attitude like that will push even the most patient friends away over time.
像那樣不領情的態度，就算再有耐心的朋友遲早也會被你推開。
thankless attitude — describing behaviour rather than person directly
Tariq called his thankless cousin a liar for promising to help and never showing up.
Tariq 指責他那不領情的表哥說謊，答應幫忙卻從來沒有出現過。
- thankless child
- thankless attitude
- thankless person
- thankless behaviour
- ungrateful
the standard, more common word for this meaning
- unappreciative
similar meaning but slightly less strong
- unthankful
very rare variant of the same meaning
- grateful
feeling and showing thanks
- thankful
expressing relief or appreciation for a kindness
- appreciative
recognising and valuing what others do
文法句型
be + thankless
thankless + [noun: person/child/attitude]
用法筆記
Unlike adjective sense 1, this sense is used for people or their attitudes, not for tasks. 'Ungrateful' is far more common in everyday English; 'thankless' in this sense sounds slightly old-fashioned or literary.
同根字
- thanksnoun (plural)A2
- thank動詞A2
- thankful形容詞B1
- thankfully副詞B2
- thankless形容詞C1
- thanklessness名詞C2
- ungrateful形容詞B2
- grateful形容詞B1
- gratefully副詞B1
常見搭配
副詞搭配
- thanklessly
- gratefully
- ungratefully
- appreciatively
常用片語
- a thankless task
- a thankless job
- a thankless role
- thankless work
- work thanklessly
- serve thanklessly
- accept thanklessly
- take thanklessly