Definition of cruel
crueler
orcrueller
;cruelest
orcruellest
1 : disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings a cruel tyrant has a cruel heart
2a : causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain a cruel joke a cruel twist of fateb : unrelieved by leniency cruel punishment
cruelness
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Examples of cruel in a Sentence
a cruel twist of fate
Hunger is a cruel fact of nature.
Recent Examples of cruel from the Web
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Michele Lueking-Sunman, an attorney with N.C. Prisoner Legal Services who helped represent the inmates in the Central Prison case, said that what happened to them amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
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Tizon’s parents probably justified their cruel bait-and-switch by telling themselves that providing Pulido with room and board in a foreign country was compensation enough, especially given their own financial situation.
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My heart feels empty from the loss of my big brother, but also from the cruel awakening that hate & judgment can cause someone to do such a thing.
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Iditarod CEO Stan Hooley said there’s no doubt the decision is related to activists like PETA wrongly implying the Iditarod condones cruel treatment of the dogs.
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Arthur's attorneys filed court papers Wednesday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, calling the lethal injection procedure cruel and unusual punishment.
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Judge Jackson based his ruling on a 2012 Supreme Court decision in an Alabama case that found the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment barred juveniles from being sentenced to life in prison without parole.
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The victim, who was not in court, was humiliated by the cruel act, prosecutors said.
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Making your way through this cruel, confounding, ever-changing world is difficult.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cruel'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of cruel
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin crudelis, from crudus —see 1crude
First Known Use: 14th century
Synonym Discussion of cruel
CRUEL Defined for English Language Learners
cruel
playDefinition of cruel for English Language Learners
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—used to describe people who hurt others and do not feel sorry about it
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: causing or helping to cause suffering : terrible and unfair
CRUEL Defined for Kids
cruel
playDefinition of cruel for Students
crueler
orcrueller
;cruelest
orcruellest
1 : wanting to cause others to suffer a cruel ruler
2 : causing or helping to cause suffering cruel punishment a cruel joke
cruelly
adverbLearn More about cruel
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See words that rhyme with cruel Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cruel Spanish Central: Translation of cruel Nglish: Translation of cruel for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of cruel for Arabic speakers
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