cruel
willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others.
enjoying the pain or distress of others: the cruel spectators of the gladiatorial contests.
causing or marked by great pain or distress: a cruel remark;a cruel affliction.
rigid; stern; strict; unrelentingly severe.
Origin of cruel
1synonym study For cruel
Other words for cruel
Opposites for cruel
Other words from cruel
- cru·el·ly, adverb
- cru·el·ness, noun
- un·cru·el, adjective
- un·cru·el·ly, adverb
- un·cru·el·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cruel in a sentence
Chronic starvation, overwork, disease, and freezing temperatures were as effective as the bullet, only slower and crueler.
Norman Manea Survived the Nazis and the Communists and Lived to Write About It | Costica Bradatan | April 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd the day-to-day existence of a quadriplegic is far crueler than most people imagine.
NYPD Scandals Obscure the Decency of the Majority, Cops Say | Michael Daly | November 11, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTOf course, the arithmetic has become much crueler since the Clinton administration.
As the women got bolder, the times—or at least the men trying to outdo the times—got crueler.
It is keener and crueler now than it was that day when you found me in the forest.
Diane of the Green Van | Leona Dalrymple
No deadlier or crueler weapon can be used against a man than that same charge as to his sanity.
The Grain Of Dust | David Graham PhillipsI see now that I could not have invented a crueler punishment; but it was never my purpose to punish her.
A Touch Of Sun And Other Stories | Mary Hallock FooteAnd no earthly sufferings could have been crueler than his agony and remorse, as through the long years he wandered on and on.
The Mysterious Rider | Zane GreyAnd heaven, sweet and fair as she appears, is crueler than I could have believed.'
British Dictionary definitions for cruel
/ (ˈkruːəl) /
causing or inflicting pain without pity: a cruel teacher
causing pain or suffering: a cruel accident
Origin of cruel
1Derived forms of cruel
- cruelly, adverb
- cruelness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse