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gratitude

/ˌgrædəˈtud/
/ˈgrætɪtjud/
IPA guide

Other forms: gratitudes

Gratitude means thanks and appreciation. It's the warm feeling you get when someone helps you figure out a great solution to a difficult problem that you've been trying to solve.

Though they both recognize the instrumental roles others have played in our lives, gratitude is different from indebtedness. Gratitude, which rhymes with "attitude," comes from the Latin word gratus, which means "thankful, pleasing." When you feel gratitude, you're pleased by what someone did for you and also pleased by the results. Unlike indebtedness, you're not anxious about having to pay it back. But it's still great to tell the recipient of your gratitude how much they mean to you.

Definitions of gratitude
  1. noun
    a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation
    “he was overwhelmed with gratitude for their help”
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    ingratitude
    a lack of gratitude
    types:
    appreciativeness, gratefulness, thankfulness
    warm friendly feelings of gratitude
    type of:
    feeling
    the experiencing of affective and emotional states
Pronunciation
US
/ˌgrædəˈtud/
UK
/ˈgrætɪtjud/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘gratitude'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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