crueler or crueller; cruelest or cruellest
1
: disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings
a cruel tyrant
has a cruel heart
2
a
: causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain
a cruel joke
a cruel twist of fate
b
: unrelieved by leniency
cruel punishment
cruelness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of cruel in a Sentence
a cruel twist of fate
Hunger is a cruel fact of nature.
Recent Examples on the Web
Cutting off people from healthcare, childcare, and other services is cruel.
—
Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
Banek has requested the Illinois Department of Public Health probe the cruel death, also asking that all evidence associated with the case be preserved.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025
But his cruel divisiveness is deflecting attention from the main event.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 29 Jan. 2025
Some call it a ‘cruel’ cutoff Gyude Moore, a former Cabinet minister in Liberia who is now a fellow at the U.S.-based Center for Global Development, said the U.S. freeze would hurt lives around Africa.
—Ellen Knickmeyer, Samya Kullab, Farai Mutsaka and Charlotte Graham-McLay, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2025
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Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
Banek has requested the Illinois Department of Public Health probe the cruel death, also asking that all evidence associated with the case be preserved.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025
But his cruel divisiveness is deflecting attention from the main event.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 29 Jan. 2025
Some call it a ‘cruel’ cutoff Gyude Moore, a former Cabinet minister in Liberia who is now a fellow at the U.S.-based Center for Global Development, said the U.S. freeze would hurt lives around Africa.
—Ellen Knickmeyer, Samya Kullab, Farai Mutsaka and Charlotte Graham-McLay, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for cruel
Dictionary Entries Near cruel
Cite this Entry
“Cruel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruel. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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