Give The Gift Of Thanks With 14 “Gratitude” Synonyms

Words of "gratitude"

In the fall and winter, as the days grow shorter and the weather gets colder, things can start to feel a bit gloomy. Fortunately, we have a number of holidays to enjoy that lift our spirits up during these seasons. The Thanksgiving holiday, celebrated in the United States and Canada, as well as religious holidays like Diwali, Christmas, and Hanukkah, are all opportunities to celebrate during this time. They are also moments where we should express gratitude for everything we have to celebrate—our friends, our family, our well-being, or even simply just making it through another year.

There are many benefits of showing gratitude. It lets the people in our lives know how much we care about them and appreciate all they do for us. It also makes us feel good to see how happy it makes others feel when we show that we recognize their compassion. Not only that, but when we express gratitude, it is more likely that we will receive it in return.

Just as there are many ways to express gratitude, there are many synonyms for or terms related to this important concept. For your benefit, we have rounded up many of them here (you can thank us later).

thanksgiving

The term thanksgiving is perhaps best known as the name of the holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States and the second Monday in October in Canada. Thanksgiving literally means “grateful acknowledgement of benefits or favors, especially to God.” The first records of the word thanksgiving date to around 1530. You can read “More About Thanksgiving” here.

We’ve cooked up a banquet of Thanksgiving vocabulary for you to sample before the holiday.

thankful

A term related to thanksgiving, often with a similar religious connotation, is thankful, an adjective meaning “feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative.” During the holiday of Thanksgiving, it is traditional to share what you feel thankful for.

grateful

A close synonym of thankful is grateful, meaning “warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received.” This term is most often used to show a warm and deep appreciation for something someone has done for you personally.

appreciation

What is appreciation anyway? It’s a close synonym of gratitude. It means “thankful recognition.” In other words, it means to show awareness of and express approval for something or someone. The verb form of this word is appreciate.

Show some appreciation for these warm and charming words for fall.

indebtedness

The word indebted has two meanings. The first one is literal and has to do with repaying a loan. The second meaning of indebted is “obligated for favors or kindness received.” The state of being indebted is indebtedness. Expressing indebtedness is a form of showing gratitude when someone does something for you.

acknowledgement

One form of showing gratitude is through acknowledgement, a term which has a variety of meanings including “an expression of appreciation.” This term is derived from the word knowledge.

recognition

A term related to acknowledgement is recognition, “the acknowledgment of achievement, service, merit, etc.” Often this noun is paired with the verb show and a preposition, as in to show recognition for the employee’s hard work.

obligation

We often think of an obligation as a burden, but it doesn’t have to be. One of the many definitions for obligation is “a debt of gratitude.” If someone does you a favor, you may feel a sense of obligation toward them.

cognizance

A term with a similar connotation of recognition or acknowledgement is cognizance, which literally means “awareness, realization, or knowledge.” However, showing cognizance, spelled cognisance in British English, is also a way of expressing gratitude or appreciation for something someone else did for you.

It takes great awareness to write your holiday cards early, ensuring you have time to review our tips for writing them so you can craft something thoughtful.

benediction

A term with some of the same religious connotation as thanksgiving is benediction, a noun meaning “an utterance of good wishes.” Benedictions are often used in prayer to express thanks to God and hope for blessings.

tribute

One way of showing gratitude is through a tribute, “a gift, testimonial, compliment, or the like, given as due or in acknowledgment of gratitude or esteem.” Historically, tributes have been given to leaders, such as kings, in recognition of their leadership and to show respect.

accolade

Another form of tribute or way of showing appreciation is through an accolade, often used in the plural (accolades). The word accolade means “any award, honor, or laudatory notice.” This term is often used to describe the positive recognition earned by works of art, as in Her new novel received many accolades from the press.

encomium

A sophisticated term for showing gratitude is encomium [ en-koh-mee-uhm ], “a formal expression of high praise.” Encomium comes from the Greek enkṓmion, which means roughly “to revel in.”

laudation

Another formal term for describing the expression of gratitude is laudation. Laudation is a synonym for tribute or encomium, meaning “an act or instance of lauding,” or praising. Laudation ultimately comes from the Latin for “praise.”