Definitions for cruelty
ˈkru əl ticru·el·ty

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. cruelty, inhuman treatmentnoun

   a cruel act; a deliberate infliction of pain and suffering

2. cruelty, mercilessness, pitilessness, ruthlessnessnoun

   feelings of extreme heartlessness

3. cruelty, cruelness, harshnessnoun

   the quality of being cruel and causing tension or annoyance

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. crueltynoun

   an indifference to suffering or positive pleasure in inflicting suffering.

2. crueltynoun

   a cruel act

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Crueltynoun

   Inhumanity; savageness; barbarity.

   Etymology: cruauté, French.

   The cruelty and envy of the people,
   Permitted by our dastard nobles,
   Have suffer’d me by the voice of slaves to be
   Whoop’d out of Rome. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   There were great changes in the world by the revolutions of empire, the cruelties of conquering, and the calamities of enslaved nations. William Temple.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Cruelty

   Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve violence, but affirmative violence is not necessary for an act to be cruel. For example, if a person is drowning and begging for help and another person is able to help with no cost or risk, but is merely watching with disinterest or perhaps mischievous amusement, that person is being cruel—rather than violent. George Eliot stated that "cruelty, like every other vice, requires no motive outside itself; it only requires opportunity." Bertrand Russell stated that "the infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented Hell." Gilbert K. Chesterton stated that "cruelty is, perhaps, the worst kind of sin. Intellectual cruelty is certainly the worst kind of cruelty."The word has metaphorical uses, for example, "The cliffs remained cruel." (i.e., unclimbable when they desperately needed to be climbed) in The Lord of the Rings.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. cruelty

   Cruelty is the act of inflicting pain or causing suffering to others, whether physically or emotionally, often involving inhumane and harsh treatment. It may also refer to indifference or pleasure in causing pain and suffering. Cruelty can be demonstrated through actions, language, or neglect and can occur in various contexts such as in interpersonal relationships, societal treatment of animals, or in legal and justice systems.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Crueltynoun

   the attribute or quality of being cruel; a disposition to give unnecessary pain or suffering to others; inhumanity; barbarity

2. Crueltynoun

   a cruel and barbarous deed; inhuman treatment; the act of willfully causing unnecessary pain

3. Etymology: [OF. cruelt, F. cruaut, fr. L. crudelitas, fr. crudelis. See Cruel.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Cruelty

   Cruelty is indifference to suffering, and even pleasure in inflicting it. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve violence, but affirmative violence is not necessary for an act to be cruel. For example, if a person is drowning and begging for help, and another person is able to help, but merely watches with disinterest or perhaps mischievous amusement, that person is being cruel — rather than violent. George Eliot stated that "cruelty, like every other vice, requires no motive outside of itself; it only requires opportunity." Bertrand Russell stated that "the infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented Hell." Gilbert K. Chesterton stated that "cruelty is, perhaps, the worst kind of sin. Intellectual cruelty is certainly the worst kind of cruelty."

Matched Categories

1. • Heartlessness
   • Malevolence
   • Maltreatment

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for cruelty »

1. cutlery

How to pronounce cruelty?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say cruelty in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of cruelty in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of cruelty in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of cruelty in a Sentence

1. Catherine Pugh:

   Like everyone in our city, state and across this nation, we mourned the senseless killing of Jacquelyn Smith. To now learn that family members staged this brutal killing is beyond belief and represents a double tragedy, they were responsible for taking Jacquelyn's life with unconscionable cruelty and contrived to do so in our city under the guise of random violence, exploiting the legitimate fears of our residents.

2. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev:

   Their actions showed the presence of a clear plan of attacks on military, administrative and social facilities in almost all areas, coherent coordination of actions, high combat readiness and bestial cruelty, they need to be destroyed.

3. Matt Dillon:

   I almost didn't do the film because of that, it wasn't so much the graphic nature of it. For me, the most troubling thing about it was the humiliation, the cruelty, but ... with Lars you have to take the good with the bad.

4. Frank Sharry:

   One side is filling the zone with a narrative and the other side is saying virtually nothing. As a result, many swing voters who found Trump's cruelty abhorrent are upset at Biden for what they call minding the store and not having a plan, democratic candidates are going to have to both compete on who has the better solution, who has the best immigration solution, and by pivoting to issues that motivate Democratic voters.

5. Didier Toubia:

   These are conscientious consumers who demand that companies abide by certain rules, among them is ending animal cruelty.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=cruelty
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Cruelty
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=cruelty
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruelty
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruelty
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=cruelty
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=cruelty