grateful means of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful. It carries an Arena rating of 1580, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, grateful ranks #2,812 of 17,052 for Most Elegant Words, #6,671 of 17,052 for Most Malleable Words, #7,929 of 17,052 for Most Sublime Words, #7,979 of 17,052 for Most Exacting Words.
grateful is pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ʊ)l/.
Why “grateful” is a great word
Feeling or showing an appreciation for something done or received; thankful. From the obsolete adjective grate, rooted in Latin grātus (meaning "agreeable, pleasing; grateful, thankful"), suffixed with -ful in the sense of "full of," with the modern sense attested from the mid-16th century. Unlike "thankful," which often implies a transient relief for a specific reprieve, or "appreciative," which suggests a more discerning, active recognition of value, grateful describes a deeper, abiding fullness. It is the warmth of a held hand long after the crisis has passed, the specific weight of a familiar mug given by a friend now gone, or the quiet acknowledgement of a patch of sun on a difficult morning—the quiet recognition that one has been, against all probability, held.
Etymology
From grate (“(obsolete) serving to gratify, agreeable, pleasing; grateful, thankful”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives with the sense of tending to have or thoroughly having a quality). Grate is a learned borrowing from Latin grātus (“agreeable, pleasing; beloved, dear; grateful, thankful”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- (“to express approval, praise; to elevate”).
adj
- Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful.e.g.“I’m grateful that you helped me out.”
- Of a thing or (obsolete) person: pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable, pleasant, welcome.
Words closest in meaning
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