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
Young Dorothy Gale is transported, via magical tornado, to the Wonderful World of Oz, an acid trip of a town full of kindly creatures under the cruel rule of the Wicked Witch of the West.
—
Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 18 Apr. 2024
But even more terrifying are reports of everyday horror — a gay bashing in the gay-friendly part of San Diego, an episode of cruel LGBTQ+ bullying at the high school, the treacherous specter of drug abuse and the inexorable phantom of death.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The job of the Biden administration is to judge those weaknesses correctly, exploit them ruthlessly, and, with its allies, help Ukraine defeat an enemy as cruel and malignant as any in history.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
And as with natural conception, success rates decline with age, a cruel fact that means people who use fertility treatments as an insurance plan sometimes still face an uphill battle.
—Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
But in a cruel twist of fate, Lewis, 73, can’t always fully appreciate any of that music or footage.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
While trophy hunting can seem cruel, the relationship between animals and humans is more complex, experts said.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Wong took on the persona of a cruel overlord to entertain the many volunteers.
—Sam Hurwitt, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Her narrowly conventional mother (Lynn Downey) drags her to Arkham Asylum, where a cruel doctor (Christian Calloway) gives her an experimental drug, Smylex, to impose a chemical happiness.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 18 Apr. 2024
But even more terrifying are reports of everyday horror — a gay bashing in the gay-friendly part of San Diego, an episode of cruel LGBTQ+ bullying at the high school, the treacherous specter of drug abuse and the inexorable phantom of death.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The job of the Biden administration is to judge those weaknesses correctly, exploit them ruthlessly, and, with its allies, help Ukraine defeat an enemy as cruel and malignant as any in history.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
And as with natural conception, success rates decline with age, a cruel fact that means people who use fertility treatments as an insurance plan sometimes still face an uphill battle.
—Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
But in a cruel twist of fate, Lewis, 73, can’t always fully appreciate any of that music or footage.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
While trophy hunting can seem cruel, the relationship between animals and humans is more complex, experts said.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Wong took on the persona of a cruel overlord to entertain the many volunteers.
—Sam Hurwitt, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Her narrowly conventional mother (Lynn Downey) drags her to Arkham Asylum, where a cruel doctor (Christian Calloway) gives her an experimental drug, Smylex, to impose a chemical happiness.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cruel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cruel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruel. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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