Skip to content

cruelty

/ˈkɹu(.ə)lti/noun2 syllables

Cruelty means: feelings of extreme heartlessness.

Synonyms for cruelty7

noun, as in feelings of extreme heartlessness

mercilessness, pitilessness, ruthlessness

noun, as in the quality of being cruel and causing tension or annoyance

cruelness, harshness

noun, as in a cruel act; a deliberate infliction of pain and suffering

inhuman treatment

also used for cruelty

barbarism

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does cruelty mean?3

noun

1

feelings of extreme heartlessness

2

the quality of being cruel and causing tension or annoyance

3

a cruel act; a deliberate infliction of pain and suffering

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cruelty in a sentence

  • Witnessing cruelty to animals, children may become cruel.Objectivesea
  • The girl was at the mercy of his cruelty.unknown
  • The cruelty of the torture in the police station is beyond description.unknown
  • My own level of cruelty is simply off-limits.LoverofEnglish
  • They condemned him for his cruelty to animals.CM
  • She spoke out strongly against cruelty to animals.CM
  • She gave up eating meat after reading a book about cruelty to animals.CK
  • It is an act of cruelty to lock a small child in his room.CK

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of cruelty

as a noun

plural
cruelties