as in brutality
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
centuries after he ravaged Europe, Attila the Hun remains notorious for his cruelty
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cruelty
Despite those other cases, replete with cruelty and intentional violence, Boston made a striking pronouncement.
—
Thomas Lake, AJC.com, 4 June 2026
In 2024, Marineland was found guilty under Ontario’s animal cruelty laws in a case related to its care of three black bears.
—ABC News, 3 June 2026
The abolition of chattel slavery involved enormous societal upheaval, and eliminating cruelty to animals will require rebuilding our entire food industry.
—Ted Chiang, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
To make the musical masterpiece of his dreams, Lestat will have to break on through his shell of witty cruelty and hope an authentic soul remains intact beneath it.
—Judy Berman, Time, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for cruelty
Thomas Lake, AJC.com, 4 June 2026
In 2024, Marineland was found guilty under Ontario’s animal cruelty laws in a case related to its care of three black bears.
—ABC News, 3 June 2026
The abolition of chattel slavery involved enormous societal upheaval, and eliminating cruelty to animals will require rebuilding our entire food industry.
—Ted Chiang, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
To make the musical masterpiece of his dreams, Lestat will have to break on through his shell of witty cruelty and hope an authentic soul remains intact beneath it.
—Judy Berman, Time, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for cruelty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cruelty
Noun
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Lyrics by Ahrens and dialogue by McNally about the discrimination and brutality that Black Americans and immigrants face can seem straight out of the current moment.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
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Where the movie’s true eccentricity comes in is in its combination of breezy comedy with shocking brutality and gore, perhaps most exemplified in an oddly casual moment in a morgue where Seagal and Wayans find a clue in the form of a serial number on a dead woman’s breast implant.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
5 June 2026
Noun
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In New York state social studies classes, communism and socialism are presented as two economic systems that make things more equal and fair, with no historical references to the atrocities committed by socialist and communist regimes confiscating property.—
Betsy McCaughey,
Boston Herald,
8 June 2026
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For Holocaust Survivor Day, which is observed globally on June 4, nearly 130 survivors gathered with friends and neighbors at Temple Beth Emet in Cooper City to celebrate their lives and important contributions in educating future generations about the atrocities of the Holocaust.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cruelty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cruelty. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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