thankless

/ˈθæŋkləs/

/ˈθænklɪs/

Other forms: thanklessly

When you do something that doesn't earn you any gratitude, you can call it thankless. Handing out parking tickets and giving unsolicited advice can both be thankless jobs.

If no one says, "Thanks!" despite your hard work, your task was a thankless one. You can also describe the person who doesn't express gratitude that way—Shakespeare's King Lear famously did this by saying, "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!"

Definitions of thankless

1. adjective

   not feeling or showing gratitude
   “"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is / To have a thankless child!"- Shakespeare”

   synonyms: ungrateful, unthankful

   unappreciative

   not feeling or expressing gratitude
2. adjective

   not likely to be rewarded
   “grading papers is a thankless task”

   synonyms: unappreciated, ungratifying

   unrewarding

   not rewarding; not providing personal satisfaction