English Reference
Noun

gratitude

n. uncountable
B1 Intermediate US /ˈɡɹætəˌtud/ UK /ɡɹˈætɪtjˌuːd/ grat·i·tude

n.the feeling of being thankful and wanting to say thank you. You feel this when someone does something kind for you.

n.the quality of being thankful; a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.


SIMPLE

She expressed her deep gratitude for all their help.

CONTEXTUAL

The local community showed their gratitude by hosting a dinner for the volunteers who helped after the storm.

COMPLEX

Cultivating a sense of daily gratitude is often recommended by psychologists as a practical method for improving overall emotional resilience and long-term life satisfaction.

Usage

Commonly paired with the preposition 'for' to indicate the cause, and 'to' or 'towards' to indicate the recipient.

Pitfall
I have much gratitudes for youI have much gratitude for you

Gratitude is uncountable and does not take a plural form even when describing many different reasons for being thankful.


From French gratitude, from Medieval Latin grātitūdō (“thankfulness”), from Latin grātus (“thankful”). Displaced native Old English þancung.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin grātus
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated