debt of gratitude
- noun
- /dɛt əv ˈɡrætɪtud/
- I will always owe a debt of gratitude to you for your support during difficult times.
- owes a debt of gratitude
- an enormous debt of gratitude
- debt of gratitude to individuals
The help that they provided was immense and I have a massive debt of gratitude to them for that.
- The help that they provided was immense and I have a massive debt of gratitude to them for that.
- And let me just say that America owes him an enormous debt of gratitude.
- Actually, we all owe them the debts of gratitude.
- These soldiers are keeping our nation safe and free, and we owe them debt of gratitude.
- And we do owe folks like Hancock a debt of gratitude that he has.
- We invented it, and the entire world owes us this huge debt of gratitude because all the morality in the world came from the Jews.
Examples
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So, lessons learned, but we pulled it off, and I owe all of you a debt of gratitude.
Blog text (5) -
Actually, I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend Benjamin here.
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Whatever it was, we owe a debt of gratitude for this wonderful gift.
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I will always owe a debt of gratitude to you all.
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I owe you a debt of gratitude for what you did for our David.
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The help that they provided was immense and I have a massive debt of gratitude to them for that.
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We owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to those who fought and died in this war.
Blog text (11) -
I owe you a debt of gratitude that I may never be able to repay.
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We owe her an enormous debt of gratitude.
Academic text (2016) -
I owe each of you a huge debt of gratitude, and I won't forget your efforts.
Blog text (14)
Synonyms
A feeling of being thankful for something someone did
An action or words that show you are grateful for help and kindness
A warm feeling when someone helps or shows they care
A feeling of thanks for something kind someone has done
A feeling of thanks for someone's help that makes you feel you owe them
How Grateful
Surface Forms
Morphology
debt + of + gratitude
The phrase combines 'debt' (an obligation or something owed) with 'gratitude' (thankfulness), so a learner who knows both words can infer an obligation to be thankful or 'owing thanks.' This metaphorical extension of 'debt' to non-financial obligation is common in many languages, making the meaning directly derivable and transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
The phrase debt of gratitude is like saying thankfulness is a money debt: debt is what you owe and gratitude is thanks, so you imagine you 'owe' someone after they help you. That's why it means a strong feeling of thanks and the idea that you should 'repay' them.