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cruel
[ kroo-uhl ]
adjective
- willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others.
Synonyms: relentless, merciless, ferocious, bloodthirsty
Antonyms: kind
- enjoying the pain or distress of others:
the cruel spectators of the gladiatorial contests.
Antonyms: compassionate, sympathetic
- causing or marked by great pain or distress:
a cruel remark;
a cruel affliction.
- rigid; stern; strict; unrelentingly severe.
cruel
/ ˈkruːəl /
adjective
- causing or inflicting pain without pity
a cruel teacher
- causing pain or suffering
a cruel accident
Derived Forms
- ˈcruelness, noun
- ˈcruelly, adverb
Other Words From
- cruel·ly adverb
- cruel·ness noun
- un·cruel adjective
- un·cruel·ly adverb
- un·cruel·ness noun
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of cruel1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
His later books drew heavily from experiences and people he encountered at the bar, including the cruel captain in The Sea-Wolf.
Not to those in power, not to the cruel and inhumane, not to the wealthy.
Hatuey replied that he would rather burn and be sent to hell than ever again encounter people as cruel as the Spanish.
The New Jersey governor vetoed a ban on a rarely used cruel practice for pregnant pigs.
The story of Alstory Simon has all the scope and scale, the cruel reversals, and pointless waste of proper tragedy.
And then Jolly Robin would feel ashamed that he had even thought of being so cruel to an infant bird, even if he was a Cowbird.
Through what ages has that declaration, not to be denied, ascended to cold and cruel skies?
His silence had frightened her: what if he should resent on her the cruel words spoken by Dr. Ashton?
There had been cruel misunderstanding on his part somewhere; that misunderstanding must be burned away.
In a thousand trials the cruel witness of Moses has sent innocent women to a painful death.
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