cruel

cruel

willfully causing pain or distress; merciless

Not to be confused with:

crewel – worsted yarn for embroidery and edging

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

cru·el

 (kro͞o′əl)

adj. cru·el·er, cru·el·est or cru·el·ler or cru·el·lest

1. Disposed to inflict pain or suffering: a cruel tyrant.

2. Causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or distress: cruel treatment; a cruel remark.

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin crūdēlis; see kreuə- in Indo-European roots.]

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cru′el·ly adv.

cru′el·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cruel

(ˈkruːəl)

adj

1. causing or inflicting pain without pity: a cruel teacher.

2. causing pain or suffering: a cruel accident.

[C13: from Old French, from Latin crūdēlis, from crūdus raw, bloody]

ˈcruelly adv

ˈcruelness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cru•el

(ˈkru əl)

adj. -er, -est.

1. willfully causing pain or distress to others.

2. enjoying the pain or distress of others.

3. causing or marked by great pain or distress.

4. unrelentingly severe; merciless; brutal.

[1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin crūdēlis=crūd(us) (see crude) + -ēlis adj. suffix]

cru′el•ly, adv.

cru′el•ness, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

cruel - (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering; "a barbarous crime"; "brutal beatings"; "cruel tortures"; "Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks"; "a savage slap"; "vicious kicks" barbarous, brutal, fell, savage, vicious, roughshod inhumane - lacking and reflecting lack of pity or compassion; "humans are innately inhumane; this explains much of the misery and suffering in the world"; "biological weapons are considered too inhumane to be used"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

cruel

adjective

1. brutal, ruthless, callous, sadistic, inhumane, hard, fell (archaic), severe, harsh, savage, grim, vicious, relentless, murderous, monstrous, unnatural, unkind, heartless, atrocious, inhuman, merciless, cold-blooded, malevolent, hellish, depraved, spiteful, brutish, bloodthirsty, remorseless, barbarous, pitiless, unfeeling, sanguinary, hard-hearted, stony-hearted the cruel practice of bullfighting the persecution of prisoners by cruel officers
brutal kind, caring, gentle, sympathetic, humane, compassionate, benevolent, merciful, warm-hearted

2. bitter, severe, painful, ruthless, traumatic, grievous, unrelenting, merciless, pitiless Fate dealt him a cruel blow.

Quotations
"I must be cruel, only to be kind" [William Shakespeare Hamlet]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

cruel

adjective

1. Showing or suggesting a disposition to be violently destructive without scruple or restraint:

barbarous, bestial, fell, feral, ferocious, fierce, inhuman, savage, truculent, vicious, wolfish.

2. So intense as to cause extreme suffering:

ferocious, fierce, savage, vicious.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

أليم ، قاسِقاسٍقاسي القَلب، عَديم الرّحْـمَـه

жесток

krutýsurovýukrutný

ondforfærdeliggrusom

grausamunbarmherzig

σκληρός

cruelcrudo

julma

cruelatroce

nirdayi

nečovječanokrutan

kegyetlen

kejam

miskunnarlaus; grimmuròjáningarfullur

crudeleinumano

残酷な

잔혹한

crudelis

negailestingasskaudusskaudžiai

cietsirdīgsnežēlīgssāpīgssmags

wreed

grufullgrusomnådeløssmertelig

okrutny

cruel

crud

жестокий

krutokruten

grym

dhalimu

โหดร้าย

zalimacı verenacımasızçekilmez

tàn nhẫn

令人痛苦的残忍的残酷的

cruel

[ˈkrʊəl] ADJ (crueller (compar) (cruellest (superl))) → cruel
they were very cruel to her → fueron muy crueles con ella
it's a cruel fact → es un hecho brutal
you have to be cruel to be kind → quien bien te quiere te hará llorar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cruel

[ˈkruːəl] adj

[person] → cruel(le); [treatment] → cruel(le); [joke, hoax] → cruel(le)
to be cruel to sb [person] → être cruel(le) envers qn

[life, world, reality, fact] → cruel(le)
a cruel irony → une ironie cruelle
a cruel blow → un coup très dur
a cruel twist of fate → un cruel caprice du sort
you have to be cruel to be kind → qui aime bien châtie bien

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

cruel

adj → grausam (to zu); remark, wit, critic, winter also → unbarmherzig; to be cruel to animals → ein Tierquäler sein; to be cruel to one’s dog → seinen Hund quälen; that is cruel to animals → das ist Tierquälerei; don’t be cruel! → sei nicht so gemein!; sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind → manchmal ist es letzten Endes besser, wenn man hart ist

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

cruel

[ˈkrʊəl] adj (-ler (comp) (-lest (superl))) cruel (to or towards) → crudele (con or nei confronti di)

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

cruel

(ˈkruːəl) adjective

1. pleased at causing pain; merciless. He was cruel to his dog. wreed قاسي القَلب، عَديم الرّحْـمَـه мъчителен cruel krutý, surový grausam grusom; ond σκληρός, σαδιστικόςcruel julm سنگدل؛ بی رحم julma cruel אָכזָרִי निर्दयी grub kegyetlen kejam miskunnarlaus; grimmur crudele 残酷な 자인한 negailestingas, žiaurus cietsirdīgs; nežēlīgs kejam wreed grusom, grufull; nådeløsokrutny بی رحم ، د تیږی په شان کلک زړه والا cruel crud (cu) жестокий krutý krut okrutan grym โหดร้าย acımasız, zalim 殘酷的 жорстокий ب‍ے رحم، ظالم độc ác 残酷的

2. causing distress. a cruel disappointment. onmenslik أليم ، قاسِ жесток cruel ukrutný unbarmherzig forfærdelig σκληρόςcruel hirmus مشقت بار؛ دردآور ankara cruel מַכאִיב कष्टकर težak kegyetlen menyedihkan þjáningarfullur crudele みじめな 심한 고통을 주는 skaudus (par pārdzīvojumu) smags; sāpīgs menyeksakan wreedgrufull, smerteligprzygnębiający ستونزمن ، درد راوړونکی cruel chi­nuitor жестокий krutý krut okrutan gräslig ซึ่งก่อให้เกิดความเจ็บปวด çekilmez, acı veren 令人痛苦的 болісний; тяжкий سخت tàn nhẫn 令人痛苦的

ˈcruelly adverb

ongenadig, onmenslik بِقَسْوه жестоко cruelmente surově, krutě grausam grusomt; ondt; forfærdeligt σκληράcruelmente julmalt با قساوت؛ بی رحمانه julmasti cruellement בְּאַכזָרִיוּת निर्दयतापूर्वक grubo kegyetlenül dengan kejam grimmdarlega crudelmente むごたらしく 잔인하게 žiauriai, skaudžiai cietsirdīgi; nežēlīgi dengan kejam wreedgrusomt, grufullt, nådeløst okrutnie بی رحمانه cruelmente cu cruzime жестоко kruto kruto okrutno grymt อย่างเจ็บปวด zalimce, insafsızca 殘酷地 жорстоко; тяжко ظالمان‍ہ một cách độc ác 残酷地

ˈcruelty noun

wreedheid, wreedaardigheid, onmenslikheid قَسْوَه жестокост crueldade surovost, ukrutnost die Grausamkeit grusomhed; ondskab σκληρότηταcrueldad julmus بی رحمی؛ قساوت julmuus cruautéאכזריות क्रूरता grubost kegyetlenség kekejaman grimmd, miskunnarleysi crudeltà 残酷 잔인성 žiaurumas cietsirdība; nežēlība kekejaman wreedheidgrusomhet, mishandlingokrucieństwo بی رحمی crueldade cruzime жестокость krutosť krutost okrutnost grymhet การกระทำที่โหดร้าย zalimlik, insafsızlık 殘忍 жорстокість ظلم، جفا، ستم hành động tàn bạo 残忍

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

cruel

→ قاسٍ krutý ond grausam σκληρός cruel julma cruel okrutan crudele 残酷な 잔혹한 wreed grusom okrutny cruel жестокий grym โหดร้าย zalim tàn nhẫn 残忍的

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

cruel

a. cruel, inhumano-a.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

cruel

adj cruel

English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.