cruelty

noun

cru·​el·​ty ˈkrü(-ə)l-tē 

plural cruelties

1

: the quality or state of being cruel

2

a

: a cruel action

b

: inhuman treatment

3

: marital conduct held (as in a divorce action) to endanger life or health or to cause mental suffering or fear

Synonyms

• atrociousness
• atrocity
• barbarity
• barbarousness
• brutality
• cruelness
• fiendishness
• heartlessness
• inhumanity
• inhumanness
• sadism
• savageness
• savagery
• truculence
• viciousness
• wantonness

Examples of cruelty in a Sentence

a dictator known for his cruelty

The cruelty of children can be surprising.

They protested against cruelty to animals.

Recent Examples on the Web

His father, Colin Gray, is facing 29 charges — including two counts of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children — related to the shooting at his son’s high school. —Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024

Oxford, no longer relevant to the contemporary world in so many ways, was advertising its special connection with the cruelty and suffering that had been rolled out across the entire planet, over centuries, and still rolling away. —Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024

Patole's words can feel shocking to those in the West, where the conversation about eating meat revolves around ethics: the cruelty of animal slaughter and the environmental cost of raising animals for meat. —Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 15 Dec. 2024

With a keen awareness of what lies on both ends of the spectrum of human kindness and cruelty, 2024’s best music documented an unbreakable will to keep pushing past the worst days to get to wherever the peaceful ones were hiding. —Vulture Editors, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cruelte, from Anglo-French cruelté, from Latin crudelitat-, crudelitas, from crudelis

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cruelty

• anti-cruelty
• cruelty-free

Kids Definition

cruelty

noun

cru·​el·​ty ˈkrü-əl-tē 

plural cruelties

1

: the quality or state of being cruel

2

: cruel treatment

Legal Definition

cruelty

noun

cru·​el·​ty

plural cruelties

1

a

: an intentional or criminally negligent act that causes pain and suffering

cruelty to animals

cruelty to children

b

: mistreatment or neglect that causes pain and suffering compare abuse

Note: Cruelty is an aggravating circumstance to a crime (as murder).

2

: a spouse's conduct that endangers life or health or causes mental suffering or fear

called also cruel and inhuman treatment

Note: Cruelty is a ground for divorce.