The gratitude meaning is the feeling of being thankful and wanting to show it, for a kindness someone did or for good things in your life. Grateful is the adjective: when you feel gratitude, you are grateful.
Both words go a little deeper than a quick "thanks". They suggest you have noticed the value of what you received and you appreciate it. This page explains what does grateful mean in daily speech, how to pair it with the right preposition, where both words come from, and a spelling slip that trips up many writers.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Grateful: thankful; gratitude: the feeling of thankfulnessPart of speech
Grateful is an adjective; gratitude is a nounPronunciation
GRAYT-fuhl; gratitude: GRAT-i-toodWord forms
gratefully, gratefulness, gratitudeOrigin
Latin gratus, pleasing or thankfulOpposite
Ungrateful, ingratitude, thanklessSpelling
grateful, never "greatful"
Gratitude meaning and grateful definition
What is the definition of gratitude in one line? It is thankfulness that you feel and usually want to express. To define grateful: feeling or showing that thankfulness.
There are two common kinds:
- Gratitude to a person for something specific they did, such as a neighbour who watered your plants while you were away.
- General gratitude for parts of life, such as health, family, a roof over your head or a sunny morning. This is the kind people mean in phrases like "practise gratitude".
Grateful can also mean pleasant or welcome in older or literary English, as in "the grateful shade of the trees". You will rarely need that sense, but it explains some older texts.
Grateful to, grateful for, grateful that
The preposition depends on what follows:
| Pattern | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| grateful to someone | the person | I am grateful to my coach. |
| grateful for something | the thing or act | We are grateful for your patience. |
| grateful to someone for something | both together | She was grateful to her brother for the loan. |
| grateful that + clause | a situation | I'm grateful that nobody was hurt. |
| would be grateful if | polite requests | I would be grateful if you could reply by Friday. |
That last pattern is a staple of formal emails and letters. With the noun, say "gratitude to or towards someone" and "gratitude for something": "a note of gratitude for their help".
Examples from daily life
- I'm really grateful you stayed late to help me finish the slides.
- The family expressed their gratitude to the fire crew who saved their home.
- After a week of rain, we were grateful for one dry afternoon.
- She smiled gratefully as the stranger held the door for her heavy pram.
- Writing down three things she felt gratitude for became her bedtime habit.
Grateful, thankful and appreciative
These words are close, and in casual speech people swap them freely. Small differences exist:
- Thankful is often used for relief or good luck: "thankful the exam was postponed".
- Grateful leans towards a person or a kindness, and suits formal requests: "grateful for your support".
- Appreciative stresses noticing value, and can also mean enjoying something: "an appreciative audience".
The opposite words are ungrateful and the noun ingratitude. A thankless task is one nobody thanks you for.
Spelling and pronunciation traps
Writers often type "greatful" by accident. It makes sense to think of feeling great, but the word comes from Latin, not from great. Remember: grate-ful, gratitude, gratify, all with grat.
Notice how the vowel changes. Grateful has a long a, GRAYT-fuhl. Gratitude has a short a, GRAT-i-tood (in British English often GRAT-i-tyood). The ending of gratitude rhymes with attitude.
Where the words come from
Both go back to Latin gratus, which meant pleasing or thankful. Grateful was built in the 1500s on an older adjective grate (pleasing, thankful) plus the ending -ful. Gratitude is older: English borrowed it during the 1400s from French and Medieval Latin gratitudo. Relatives include grace, gratis (free) and congratulate.
Gratitude in health and faith
Psychologists have studied gratitude a great deal, and many studies link regular gratitude habits, such as journaling or writing thank you notes, with better mood. Results vary from person to person, and it is not a cure for illness.
Many religions place thankfulness at the heart of prayer and daily life, from saying grace before meals to offering thanks at festivals. The word grace shares the same Latin root. Related emotion words include humility and serenity, and the feelings hub lists many more.
Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of gratitude in English?
Gratitude is the feeling of being thankful for something you received or have, along with a wish to show it. It can be aimed at a person or at life in general.
What does grateful mean?
Grateful means feeling or showing thanks. You can be grateful to a person, grateful for a thing, or grateful that something happened.
Is it grateful or greatful?
Grateful is the only correct spelling. Greatful is a common error caused by linking the word to great, but it comes from the Latin gratus.
What is the difference between grateful and thankful?
They mean almost the same. Thankful often expresses relief or luck, while grateful more often points to a person or a kind act and sounds slightly more formal.
Is it correct to say "I would be grateful if"?
Yes. It is a polite, standard way to make a request in emails and letters, for example "I would be grateful if you could send the file today".
What is the opposite of gratitude?
The direct opposite is ingratitude. The opposite adjective of grateful is ungrateful.