cruel
Americanadjective
-
crueler,
comparative
-
cruelest
superlative
-
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.
adjective
-
causing or inflicting pain without pity
a cruel teacher
-
causing pain or suffering
a cruel accident
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of cruel
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin crūdēlis, equivalent to crūd(us) ( see crude) + -ēlis, adjective suffix
Explanation
Someone or something that inflicts pain or causes suffering can be described as cruel. It would be cruel of you to offer chocolate to someone on a diet. High school can be cruel sometimes: cruel teachers, who seem to organize to all pile on the papers and tests for the same day; cruel students, who are mean to each other; and even cruel cafeteria workers, who create disgusting concoctions out of mystery meat. Through its Latin ancestors — crudelis "rude and unfeeling" and crudus "raw or rude" — cruel is related to the English word crude, meaning rude or not fully formed.
Vocabulary lists containing cruel
Schooled
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Messenger
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Seeking Freedom"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The prominent assisted suicide campaigner said the law - which she described as "messy and cruel" - must "change and change quickly".
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Wildlife conservationist Prerna Singh Bindra, who led the pro bono public interest case, told AFP her petition had challenged state governments "supporting horrifically cruel practices".
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Martin’s fantasy world of Westeros in “House of the Dragon” is a particularly cruel place to be sensitive, whether to the declining fortunes of a kingdom or the machinations of the spirit world.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
His death, at age 43, brought cruel jokes about his size, and suddenly I did not want to talk about him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
He liked that none of them were cruel.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
I recognize, of course, that life isn’t fair and that many families are grappling with circumstances far crueler than ours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025
Seven years later, the group has returned with sharper tools and a crueler edge, armed with a transformed legal and cultural landscape.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2025
And then the even crueler twist: The threatened bolts of lightning, the thunder, rain and pea-sized hailstones never reached Pasadena.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2023
For a very long time, the god of pleasure who had so appealed to me as a young child was replaced with a crueler god, The Pursuit of Thinness.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2022
He is crueler than von Linden, I think, enjoys it more, but has not v.L.’s genius or commitment.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
After his electoral defeat in 1912, Candice Millard writes in “The River of Doubt,” Roosevelt “sought to purge his disappointment by throwing himself headlong against the cruelest trials that nature could offer him.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
But at the same time, even under the cruelest dictatorships, it has still managed to produce fine literature.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
Some Wall Street analysts are insisting that April — contrary to its label as the cruelest month — is actually one of the better months for the U.S. stock market.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
These are the cruelest days of harvest, when the sun turns fields into slow ovens and the heat climbs before breakfast, holding on until the stars are out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025
The cruelest, the proudest, the most superior and haughty.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
