cruelty

[kroo-uhl-tee] / ˈkru əl ti /

NOUN

brutality, harshness

Synonyms

STRONGEST

barbarism barbarity inhumanity malice persecution savagery torture

STRONG

animality bestiality bloodthirstiness callousness coarseness coldness depravity despotism ferocity fierceness heartlessness insensibility insensitiveness malignity masochism mercilessness murderousness rancor ruthlessness sadism savageness severity spite spitefulness truculence unfeelingness unkindness venom viciousness wickedness

WEAK

brutishness fiendishness hard-heartedness

Antonyms

STRONGEST

kindness

STRONG

love

WEAK

charity compassion consideration feeling gentility mercy niceness thoughtfulness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"It's just cruelty and collective punishment," Jayapal added.

From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026

Viewers accused the show of cruelty and humiliating Tran by making her relive her trauma on live television.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

No deliberate cruelty wounds this dreamy girl, only carelessness and the cataclysm of her mother’s death, which signals “the last day of childhood.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

Jad's mother, Safa, said the force was either trying to hide something, or simply exercising a form of deliberate cruelty.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

And the casual cruelty of this new world in which he had no say grew a hard clot of fear inside him.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Vocabulary lists containing cruelty

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

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Real-Life Superheroes

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The Subtle Knife

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