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
• murderousness
• viciousness
• fiendishness
• barbarousness
• wantonness
• inhumanness
• truculence
• ruthlessness
• mercilessness
• meanness
• atrociousness
• ferocity
• oppressiveness
• pitilessness
• fierceness
• grimness
• ferociousness
• bloodthirstiness
• spitefulness
• malevolence
• maliciousness
• hatefulness
• hard-heartedness
• bloodlust
• 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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of cruelty

The 1,400-acre sanctuary provides a permanent haven to over 600 domestic and exotic animals rescued from research laboratories, circuses, the pet trade, roadside zoos and other circumstances of neglect and cruelty. —Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024

As cruelty reigned, the year’s top releases sought stability. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024

Ebenezer Scrooge’s greed finds expression in callousness or cruelty in all walks of his life. —Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 1 Dec. 2024

Gray’s father is later arrested and indicted on 29 counts, including involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children. —CNN, 21 Nov. 2024