Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

thankful

/ˈθæŋkfəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.93 in modern English

Syllables: thank-ful
IPA: /ˈθæŋkfəl/

18

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Showing appreciation or gratitude.

adj

Obtaining or deserving thanks; thankworthy.

Obsolete

name

A female given name.

Example Sentences

"I'm thankful that you helped me out today. How can I ever repay you?"

Etymology

From Middle English thankful, from Old English þancful, þancfull (“thoughtful, pleasing, agreeable, pleasant, thankful, grateful”), equivalent to thank + -ful. Compare Old High German undankfol (“unthankful, ungrateful”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: thankful, þancful
Suffix: thank

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

more thankful (comparative) most thankful (superlative) thankefull (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

thankfully thankfulness

Phrases

be thankful for small mercies

Synonyms

grateful appreciative

Antonyms

thankless unthankful

Questions

How do you pronounce thankful?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈθæŋkfəl/.
What does thankful mean?: Showing appreciation or gratitude.
Where does thankful come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce thankful

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “thankful”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈθæŋkfəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “thankful”.
Repeat and practice — Say “thankful” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.