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
Instead, he is cruelly jailed solely for the peaceful expression of his beliefs.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015 | Movements.Org | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI just went missing without a trace,” one man writes, “I just disappeared cruelly from their lives.
Remembering the Fall of Saigon and Vietnam’s Mass ‘Boat People’ Exodus | Katie Baker | April 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut many of the nuns themselves were kind and not all the girls in their care were treated cruelly.
Dame Judi Dench on Playing the Inspiring Philomena | Dame Judi Dench | November 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen she wore a black-and-white striped dress, the Internet cruelly compared her to a Killer Whale.
Kim Kardashian Posts Revealing Post-Baby Instagram of Butt, Internet Goes Crazy | Marlow Stern | October 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe sunset was cruelly beautiful and as dusk deepened the Christmas lights on the firehouse grew grimly brighter.
He didn't want my father to marry my mother, and if he found us he would treat us cruelly.
The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler WarnerThe ministers who advised this step, acted cruelly towards the government they left behind.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamAccordingly, the record of this hard-fighting soldier of the Empire has been cruelly buried in ridicule.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonBascomb spurred his tired horse cruelly, and they got past Hot Springs at a fairly good gait.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsHe is a Confederate soldier who was cruelly wounded at Pea Ridge, and found his way here.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunn
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