1
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
a cruel dictator who tortured anyone who dared to speak out against him cruel and unusual punishments are forbidden by the U.S. Constitution
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2
as in harsh
difficult to endure
the cruel climate of the Arctic
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3
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
the cruel situation of being orphaned at an early age
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4
as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the bully was fond of making cruel little jabs at his victim's sore points
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cruel
The 1982 original saw Stallone play a veteran Green Beret who is forced by a cruel sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
—
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 15 May 2025
And Petrova and Trim, like many others, began to learn the sometimes cruel idiosyncrasies of the U.S. immigration system.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 12 May 2025
Their personalities, along with the cruel allure of the cityscape itself, lend the grim story a glimmer of transcendence.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 May 2025
His online rebuke of President Trump and Vice President JD Vance for their harsh and cruel immigration policies aligns with the humane and compassionate approach of Francis and church teachings.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cruel
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 15 May 2025
And Petrova and Trim, like many others, began to learn the sometimes cruel idiosyncrasies of the U.S. immigration system.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 12 May 2025
Their personalities, along with the cruel allure of the cityscape itself, lend the grim story a glimmer of transcendence.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 May 2025
His online rebuke of President Trump and Vice President JD Vance for their harsh and cruel immigration policies aligns with the humane and compassionate approach of Francis and church teachings.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cruel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cruel
Adjective
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Lori survives the brutal events of prom night, but not without a fight.—
Jane LaCroix,
People.com,
24 May 2025
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Would a Venezuelan contestant who rolled off her log need to use her airline miles when forcibly flown to the waiting arms of Maduro’s brutal regime?—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Though Nicole reserves her harshest jabs for Jorgeous, the real heat is between Tina and Mistress.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
23 May 2025
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Padilla had harsh comments for the president and the GOP in a statement Thursday after the House vote.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Their boyfriends, meanwhile, suffer the painful indignities of paper cutters, buzzsaws, and other sharp objects.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
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Ornstein: United were budgeting for no European football next season, Joseph, and therefore last night would have been extremely painful but not a complete shock.—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Enhances visibility and control of network traffic and user activities and detects and blocks malicious activities.—
Mickey Singh,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
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The malicious URLs outputted in the response are in clickable form, meaning all a user has to do is click one to be taken to a malicious site.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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The original 2006 film, which was adapted from Lauren Weisberger’s book of the same name, starred Meryl Streep as the powerful Miranda Priestley, Anne Hathaway as fashion newbie Andy Sachs, Emily Blunt as vicious assistant Emily and Stanley Tucci as Miranda’s right hand man Nigel.—
Rachel McRady,
People.com,
23 May 2025
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Wolves are vicious and intelligent group hunters, but dogs and thunderstorms famously do not mix.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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That’s really tough to stop from turning into scoring opportunities for the opponent.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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Listen to this article After a tough loss to start the Big East Tournament, the UConn baseball team bounced back on a short turnaround to defeat and eliminate St. John’s, 13-3, in a losers’ bracket game Thursday in Mason, Ohio.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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The torturous clobbering comes after Joel saves Abby from infected hordes and is coldly executed in front of his surrogate daughter, Ellie (Bella Ramsey).—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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One of the hardest parts is her daily growth-hormone injections—a torturous process for everyone involved.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Coupled with his hateful rhetoric, threats, lies, erratic policies, trampling of the Constitution and abnormal fascination with childish superlatives, tyrannical figures and Soviet-era style military parades, there’s much to be concerned about.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 May 2025
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Despite the hateful rhetoric from left-wing Democrats fighting Trump’s efforts, Trump and his dream team won’t back down.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cruel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cruel. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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