Ingrate and ingratiate are two words that are sometimes confused. We will examine the definitions of ingrate and ingratiate, where these words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.
An ingrate is someone who is lacking gratitude, who is thankless, a person who is not grateful. Ingrate is a noun that first appeared in the 1670s, from the Latin word ingratus which means thankless, ungrateful, disagreeable or unpleasant. The plural form of ingrate is ingrates.
Ingratiate means to please someone or to flatter them in order to place yourself in their favor and cause that person to like you. Ingratiate is a verb, related words are ingratiates, ingratiated, ingratiating. The word ingratiate was first used in the 1620s and is derived from the Italian word ingraziarsi, which is in turn taken from the Latin phrase in gratiam which means for the favor of.
Examples
Frank, who has sued the All Progressives Congress (APC), for allegedly trying to expel him from the party , says El-Rufai is “an ingrate and a perpetual betrayer”. (The Daily Post Nigeria)
President Trump blasted Chelsea Manning as an ingrate Thursday for having the gall to criticize the former commander-in-chief, who commuted herSince Trump was elected, the hotel has drawn swarms of lobbyists and foreign delegations hoping to ingratiate themselves with President Trump and his family. lengthy prison sentence. (The New York Post)
Mitchell plays the son of a pub landlord who is finally set to inherit the business – until his estranged foster-brother (Webb) appears at his father’s funeral, and begins to ingratiate himself with the family. (The Telegraph)
Since Trump was elected, the hotel has drawn swarms of lobbyists and foreign delegations hoping to ingratiate themselves with President Trump and his family. (The Washington Post)