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 real problem is the culture, and when culture rewards cruelty, the damage spreads. — Jodi Bondi Norgaard, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026

For all the show’s cruelty, one of Klausner’s rules was that Julie and Billy would never seriously turn on each other. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2026

Behind the scenes, this gritty, impoverished circus company wrestles with violence, illness and animal cruelty. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026

Yet, cruelty is the point for the GOP, no matter their own family backgrounds. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026