mental cruelty

noun

1. behaviour that causes distress to another person but that does not involve physical assault

Example Sentences

She claimed one of the standard grounds for at-fault divorce: an elastic legal term, “extreme mental cruelty.”

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Stella also protects the girls from Father, who has an explosive temper, a penchant for mental cruelty and a way of embracing his kids that looks a lot like sexual assault.

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“We take it upon ourselves to write this letter, regardless of any action the naval authorities may take or whatever the consequences may be. We only know that it could not possibly surpass the mental cruelty inflicted upon us on this ship.”

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Gardner divorced Rooney on May 21, 1943, citing mental cruelty and later, disclosing his infidelity and gambling habits.

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Brown herself divorced him in the early 1970s and would later allege physical and mental cruelty that nearly drove her to suicide.

Read more on Seattle Times