crueler or crueller; cruelest or cruellest
1
: disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings
a cruel tyrant
has a cruel heart
2
a
: causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain
a cruel joke
a cruel twist of fate
b
: unrelieved by leniency
cruel punishment
cruelness
noun
Examples of cruel in a Sentence
a cruel twist of fate
Hunger is a cruel fact of nature.
Recent Examples on the Web
Politics remains a cruel business and the governor has been on the frontline of it for nearly 20 years, winning and losing.
—
Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2025
They were joined by actors playing the contestants, who lurched along wearing expressions of exaggerated horror, as though the cruel stakes of the game had just been revealed to them.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
But the cruel sophistry of the majority opinion and its potential adverse effects on low-income patients should be recognized.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 July 2025
The result: resurgence of a cruel, callous form of capitalism called moral menace.
—Valerie L. Myers, The Conversation, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cruel
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Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2025
They were joined by actors playing the contestants, who lurched along wearing expressions of exaggerated horror, as though the cruel stakes of the game had just been revealed to them.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
But the cruel sophistry of the majority opinion and its potential adverse effects on low-income patients should be recognized.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 July 2025
The result: resurgence of a cruel, callous form of capitalism called moral menace.
—Valerie L. Myers, The Conversation, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cruel
Cite this Entry
“Cruel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruel. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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