VOOZH about

URL: https://www.wordreference.com/definition/cruel

⇱ cruel - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

cruel

Listen:
UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈkruːəl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈkruəl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(kro̅o̅′əl)

Inflections of 'cruel' (adj):
crueler
adj comparative
cruelest
adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cru•el /ˈkruəl/USA pronunciation   adj., -er, -est. 
  1. willfully causing pain to others:people who are cruel to animals.
  2. enjoying the pain or distress of others:a cruel and selfish tyrant.
  3. causing or marked by great pain or distress:a cruel war.
  4. severe;
    merciless;
    brutal:a cruel winter.
cru•el•ly, adv. 
cru•el•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
cru•el  (kro̅o̅′əl),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est. 
  1. willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others.
  2. enjoying the pain or distress of others:the cruel spectators of the gladiatorial contests.
  3. causing or marked by great pain or distress:a cruel remark; a cruel affliction.
  4. rigid;
    stern;
    strict;
    unrelentingly severe.
  • Latin crūdēlis, equivalent. to crūd(us) (see crude) + -ēlis adjective, adjectival suffix
  • Anglo-French, Old French
  • Middle English 1175–1225
cru′el•ly, adv. 
cru′el•ness, n. 
    1. bloodthirsty, ferocious, merciless, relentless. Cruel, pitiless, ruthless, brutal, savage imply readiness to cause pain to others. Cruel implies willingness to cause pain, and indifference to suffering:a cruel stepfather.Pitiless adds the idea of refusal to show compassion:pitiless to captives.Ruthless implies cruelty and unscrupulousness, letting nothing stand in one's way:ruthless greed.Brutal implies cruelty that takes the form of physical violence:a brutal master.Savage suggests fierceness and brutality:savage battles.
    1. kind. 2. sympathetic, compassionate.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
cruel /ˈkruːəl/ adj
  1. causing or inflicting pain without pity
  2. causing pain or suffering
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French, from Latin crūdēlis, from crūdus raw, bloodyˈcruelly adv ˈcruelness n
'cruel' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: a cruel [man, boss, leader], a cruel [remark, joke, thing to say], that was cruel!, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "cruel" in the title:

aggressive or cruel
Am I cruel [in] my love
behaved in so cruel a way by anybody
Brutal vs. cruel
by turns kind and cruel
castratingly cruel
Children can be very cruel to each other
concept of a person being cruel
Cruel
Cruel acceptance of a casual invitation
cruel and hard
"Cruel freight" [Quote from George Saunders]
cruel math
cruel shimmer of Scotch
cruel to <their> own flesh and blood
cruel-ah
cruel-comic hand
cruel, more cruel, most cruel ?
cruel, violent, brutal, inhumane
facing marriages to < wealthy, yet cruel > suitors [comma?]
free will being cruel to him
he wondered whether God was alien and cruel
How could anyone have been so cruel?
I am not this much cruel!
I cannot believe that he said <such a cruel thing to you> <to you such a cruel thing>
if life hands her cruel experiences
inconsiderate/insensitive/cruel child
it was as cruel a trick as ever came before me
Kicked I the dog, I would be a cruel person.
Life is so cruel ?
more...

Look up "cruel" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "cruel" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!
Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.
Firefox users: use search shortcuts for the fastest search of WordReference.
Copyright © 2026 WordReference.com
Please report any problems.