How to Use thankless in a Sentence

thankless

adjective
  • This kind of audit is slow and thankless.
    — Omer Qureshi, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
  • But for the most part, recent drug movies are a thankless drag.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2020
  • Balfe gives a thankless role her all as the lone woman in this boys' club.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Sep. 2024
  • Still, the job of setting the story straight is a thankless one.
    — Sameer Gadhia, Rolling Stone, 27 Apr. 2021
  • For a brewery, in fact, lager can feel like a thankless labor.
    — Esther Mobley, SFChronicle.com, 31 Jan. 2020
  • The blocking can be a thankless job, so no divas need apply.
    — Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Traveling with young kids and babies can be a tough and thankless task.
    — Popular Science, 12 June 2020
  • And many are thankless jobs, like the poor security staff who get beat up all day.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2019
  • Even in normal times, the job is among the most thankless in government.
    — Massimo Calabresi, Time, 22 May 2018
  • Playing goalkeeper in men’s lacrosse can in many ways be a thankless job.
    — Edward Lee, baltimoresun.com, 14 Apr. 2018
  • Nick Foligno’s played a thankless role on the fourth line all season.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 14 May 2022
  • The most important, thankless job in the world, being on a school board.
    — The Enquirer, 22 July 2021
  • Jessie Buckley, as Wynne’s wife, has an even more thankless role.
    — Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2021
  • The endless grind of thankless tasks makes her second-guess herself.
    — Lovia Gyarkye, The New Republic, 20 May 2021
  • Salazar brings life and charm to a role that, in another biopic, could have been pretty thankless.
    — Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
  • Who in their right mind would ever want this thankless job and all the front office baggage that comes with it?
    — Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2022
  • These thankless performers save our hands from the high heat of our ovens, ranges, and grills, but not all mitts are made alike.
    — Wendy Vazquez, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2023
  • There are thankless jobs, and then there is Li Li Leung’s job.
    — Alice Park, Time, 13 June 2019
  • For the thankless task of straight man, Reiner won two Emmys.
    — Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 29 Dec. 2025
  • Bertie works a thankless job where she feels ignored by the preening men around her and dreams of opening her own bakery.
    — Jenna Scherer, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2021
  • Others might tell you that hosting an awards show is a thankless gig, but Bargatze doesn’t seem fussed.
    — Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Basketball officials have a hard job on the best of days and, at times, a tough, thankless and abuse-laden lot.
    — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 26 May 2018
  • It is often said that the gabbai (sexton) in a synagogue has the most thankless job.
    — Norman B. Gildin, sun-sentinel.com, 9 Dec. 2021
  • The comedian joked that the middle phase of life is largely thankless.
    — Alex Shoemaker, Parents, 15 Dec. 2025
  • For many, hitting the road early for Thanksgiving, turned out to be thankless.
    — Adriana Diaz, CBS News, 22 Nov. 2019
  • The position is inherently thankless, but even more so in this scheme.
    — Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Soon enough, Ivanka was on the witness stand, once again in the thankless role of cleaning up her father’s mess.
    — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2023
  • Thanks for the thankless task of worrying about the network in the middle of it all, and for being my guest today.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Life as a tour guide is often a thankless task, and when groups were large enough, the firm would pair me with another guide and bus to double us up.
    — Anonymous, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2019
  • Miranda Richardson has the thankless role of Churchill's wife, who has to put up with those cigars and mood swings.
    — The New York Times, NOLA.com, 2 June 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thankless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: