cruel
[kroo-uh l]
- 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.
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Origin of cruel
1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin crūdēlis, equivalent to crūd(us) (see crude) + -ēlis adj. suffix
Synonyms
See more synonyms for cruel on Thesaurus.com1. bloodthirsty, ferocious, merciless, relentless.
Synonym study
1. Cruel, pitiless, ruthless, brutal, savage imply readiness to cause pain to others. Cruel implies willingness to cause pain, and indifference to suffering: a cruel stepfather. Pitiless adds the idea of refusal to show compassion: pitiless to captives. Ruthless implies cruelty and unscrupulousness, letting nothing stand in one's way: ruthless greed. Brutal implies cruelty that takes the form of physical violence: a brutal master. Savage suggests fierceness and brutality: savage battles.
Antonyms
1. kind. 2. sympathetic, compassionate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for crueler
Contemporary Examples
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 ItCostica Bradatan
April 8, 2014
As the women got bolder, the times—or at least the men trying to outdo the times—got crueler.
Historical Examples
Rome of Csar, Rome of Peter,which was crueler, which was worse?
There is no crueler thing than a city crowd, all eyes and morbid curiosity.
The Escape of Mr. TrimmIrvin S. Cobb
He did not blame her—the crueler thing would have been to have told the truth.
The Woman GivesOwen Johnson
"Put his dust in his pocket," cried one, crueler than the rest.
It Is Never Too Late to MendCharles Reade
I think the men of my day were crueler as men and warmer as lovers.
The Heart's CountryMary Heaton Vorse
cruel
- causing or inflicting pain without pitya cruel teacher
- causing pain or sufferinga cruel accident
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French, from Latin crūdēlis, from crūdus raw, bloody
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for crueler
cruel
adj.
early 13c., from Old French cruel (12c.), earlier crudel, from Latin crudelis "rude, unfeeling; cruel, hard-hearted," related to crudus "rough, raw, bloody" (see crude). Related: Cruelly.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper