Synonyms of cruelty

cruelty

noun

ˈkrü(-ə)l-tē 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• brutality
• atrocity
• barbarity
• inhumanity
• savagery
• sadism
• savageness
• heartlessness
• cruelness
• viciousness
• murderousness
• fiendishness
• barbarousness
• wantonness
• inhumanness
• truculence
• ruthlessness
• mercilessness
• atrociousness
• meanness
• ferocity
• pitilessness
• oppressiveness
• fierceness
• grimness
• ferociousness
• bloodthirstiness
• malevolence
• spitefulness
• maliciousness
• hard-heartedness
• bloodlust
• hatefulness
• malignity
• unfeelingness
• harshness
• sanguinity
• fellness
• nastiness
• sanguineness
• despitefulness
• cattiness
• heavy-handedness
• hardhandedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• compassion
• sympathy
• humanity
• kindness
• humaneness
• tenderness
• benignity
• warmth
• tenderheartedness
• kindheartedness
• pity
• warmness
• good-heartedness
• mercy
• leniency
• clemency
• warmheartedness
• charitableness
• mercifulness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of cruelty

The 48-year-old Rosemead resident was charged Thursday with a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals, records show. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026

How has this added to the cruelties Haiti and its people have endured since their successful revolution began in 1791? — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026

Its restrictions cover suicide and self-harm promotion, eating disorder encouragement, body shaming, non-consensual intimate imagery, harassment, and animal cruelty. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026

Ted Gualtier, owner of Happy Tail Happy Dog, LLC, has been charged by Denver authorities with one count of cruelty to animals. — Brian Maass, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026