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- Dictionarycru·el/ˈkro͞o(ə)l/
adjective
- 1. willfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it: "people who are cruel to animals" Similar Opposite
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The meaning of CRUEL is disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings. How to use cruel in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Cruel.
CRUEL definition: 1. (of a person or action) extremely unkind and unpleasant and causing pain to people or animals…. Learn more.
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.
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.
1. willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others. 2. enjoying the pain or distress of others. the cruel spectators of the gladiatorial contests. 3. causing or marked by great pain or distress. a cruel remark. a cruel affliction.
Synonyms for CRUEL: brutal, vicious, savage, ruthless, sadistic, inhumane, merciless, heartless; Antonyms of CRUEL: sympathetic, benign, kind, humane, compassionate, warm, merciful, kindhearted
Definition of cruel adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
(kro͞o′əl) adj. cru·el·er, cru·el·est or cru·el·ler or cru·el·lest. 1. Disposed to inflict pain or suffering: a cruel tyrant. 2. Causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or distress: cruel treatment; a cruel remark. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin crūdēlis; see kreuə- in Indo-European roots .] cru′el·ly adv. cru′el·ness n.
extremely unkind, or causing people or animals to suffer: a cruel joke. Many people think hunting is cruel to animals. Fewer examples. I can't understand how anyone could be so cruel. It's cruel to keep an animal chained up like that all the while. He was certainly a very cruel man.
Deliberately seeking to inflict pain and suffering; enjoying others' suffering; without mercy or pity. Webster's New World. Similar definitions. Causing, or of a kind to cause, pain, distress, etc. Webster's New World. Similar definitions. Not nice; mean; heartless.
