ungratefully
/ʌnˈɡreɪtfəli/ (bre, ipa) · /ʌnˈɡreɪtfəli/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌən-ˈgrāt-fəl How to pronounce ungrateful (audio)/ (ame, mw)
ungratefully — 副詞
1. done without showing thanks for a benefit or favour received from another person
忘恩負義地
以不感謝他人好意或幫助的方式
done without showing thanks for a benefit or favour received from another person, typically by complaining or acting dissatisfied instead of saying thank you
After his aunt paid for his tuition, Theo ungratefully complained that the school was too far from his friends.
姑媽幫他付了學費，Theo 卻忘恩負義地抱怨學校離他的朋友太遠。
ungratefully + complained about a received benefit
Mei-Lin ungratefully tossed the scarf her grandmother knitted onto a chair and never wore it.
Mei-Lin 忘恩負義地把外婆親手織的圍巾扔在椅背上，一次也沒戴過。
ungratefully + discarding a gift
The Chen family ungratefully turned away every plate of food the neighbours brought after the typhoon damaged their kitchen.
颱風損壞了陳家的廚房後，鄰居送來一盤盤食物，陳家人卻忘恩負義地全部拒絕了。
João ungratefully sent the birthday money back and listed gifts he would have liked better.
João 忘恩負義地把生日禮金退回去，列出他比較喜歡的禮物。
- thanklessly
less common; focuses on a lack of thanks received rather than given
- unappreciatively
places more emphasis on failing to value the thing received
- gratefully
showing or expressing thanks; the direct opposite
- thankfully
with gratitude or relief
文法句型
ungratefully + verb phrase
verb phrase + ungratefully
用法筆記
The adverb ungratefully describes the manner of an action, not a person's character — unlike the adjective ungrateful. It frequently pairs with verbs of complaint, refusal, or dismissal.
常見錯誤
ungratefully — 形容詞
- ungratefullypositive
- more ungratefullycomparative
- most ungratefullysuperlative
1. not feeling or showing thanks for something good that someone has done for you,
忘恩負義的
對他人幫助或好意不表示感謝的
not feeling or showing thanks for something good that someone has done for you, especially when you should feel grateful by any reasonable standard
Dr. Mensah called the boy ungrateful after he threw the lunch his mother had packed onto the playground floor.
Mensah 醫生罵那孩子忘恩負義，因為他把媽媽準備的午餐扔在操場地上。
collocation: ungrateful child / ungrateful person
Fatima called her brother deeply ungrateful — he never thanked their aunt for two rent-free years.
Fatima 說她哥哥非常忘恩負義——姑姑讓他免費住兩年，他一次也沒謝過。
adverb collocation: deeply + ungrateful
The ungrateful patient shouted at the night-shift nurses who had stayed up to look after him all night.
那個忘恩負義的病人對著整晚照顧他的夜班護士大吼大叫。
It would seem ungrateful not to write a short note after receiving such generous wedding presents.
收到那麼豐盛的結婚禮物後，如果不寫一張簡短的謝卡，未免顯得太忘恩負義了。
- unthankful
less common, mostly British; same core meaning but narrower
- unappreciative
emphasises failure to recognise the value of what was given
文法句型
be + ungrateful
ungrateful + noun (child/guest/patient/attitude)
用法筆記
This is the core and most frequent sense of ungrateful. The subject is typically a person (or a person's behaviour/attitude). Often used with the verb 'be' as a criticism: 'You're so ungrateful!'
常見錯誤
2. describing a task or duty that is unpleasant, hard, or thankless to carry out, o
吃力不討好的
形容工作困難又得不到回報的
describing a task or duty that is unpleasant, hard, or thankless to carry out, often because the effort brings little reward or recognition
Cleaning the old oven was an ungrateful job — Sofía scrubbed for an hour and nobody even noticed the difference.
清潔那台老舊烤箱是一件吃力不討好的工作——Sofía 刷了一小時，根本沒人注意到有什麼差別。
collocation: ungrateful job / ungrateful task
Mr. Ogawa drew the ungrateful chore of telling the children their week-long camp was cancelled.
小川先生接下吃力不討好的差事，告知孩子們露營取消了。
ungrateful + chore (always before a noun)
Enforcing the rules at an office party is an ungrateful role nobody wants.
在公司聚會上執行規則是一個吃力不討好的角色，沒有人想接。
Sorting through old tax records is an ungrateful task that takes hours and earns no praise.
整理舊報稅資料是一件吃力不討好的工作，花好幾小時卻沒人稱讚。
- thankless
more common for tasks; can be used both attributively and predicatively ('a thankless task', 'the task is thankless')
- unrewarding
focuses on lack of personal satisfaction rather than lack of praise from others
- rewarding
giving satisfaction and a sense of achievement
- gratifying
providing pleasure or a feeling of being rewarded
文法句型
ungrateful + noun (task/job/chore/work/role)
用法筆記
This sense only appears before a noun (attributive), never after 'be' — you can say 'an ungrateful task' but not 'The task is ungrateful.' Distinguish from sense 1: here the word describes the nature of the work, not a person's character.
常見錯誤
3. affecting the senses in an unpleasant or repellent way, especially through sound
令感官不快的
透過聲音、味道、氣味或顏色令人厭惡的
affecting the senses in an unpleasant or repellent way, especially through sound, taste, smell, or appearance — for example, a harsh noise, a sour taste, or an ugly colour
An ungrateful screech came from the loudspeaker every time the principal leaned toward the microphone.
校長一靠近麥克風，喇叭就發出一種令人不快的刺耳聲音。
collocation: ungrateful sound / ungrateful noise
The sour milk left an ungrateful taste in Aisha's mouth all afternoon.
酸牛奶在 Aisha 嘴裡留下一股令人不快的味道，持續了一整個下午。
The waiting room was painted an ungrateful shade of yellow-brown that made everyone in it feel slightly sick.
候診室刷了一種令人不快的黃褐色，每個人都覺得有點噁心。
An ungrateful odour of old cabbage and damp cloth rose from the basement kitchen.
地下室廚房飄來一股令人不快的老甘藍菜夾雜濕布的氣味。
- unpleasant
much broader and more common; covers all degrees of dislike
- repellent
stronger; suggests actively driving someone away
- offensive
strong disapproval; works for smells, sounds, and sights
文法句型
ungrateful + noun (sound/smell/taste/colour)
用法筆記
This rare, formal sense is almost exclusively British and appears in literary or descriptive writing. It is always used before a noun (attributive) — for example 'ungrateful sound', never 'The sound was ungrateful.'