Definitions for cruelty
ˈkru əl ticru·el·ty

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

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

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. crueltynoun

   an indifference to suffering or positive pleasure in inflicting suffering.

2. crueltynoun

   a cruel act

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Crueltynoun

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

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

2. Crueltynoun

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

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

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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

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. Albert Einstein:

   My pacifism is an instinctive feeling, a feeling that possesses me because the murder of men is disgusting. My attitude is not derived from any intellectual theory but is based on my deepest antipathy to every kind of cruelty and hatred.

2. Ehsan Sehgal:

   Cruelty to own people for the interests of others raises the fire of revenge in the hearts of the victims, and any enemy can misuse them for every purpose. Seed love and harvest love.

3. Deputy Chief Inspector Nicole Broster:

   ( SWNS) The gruesome discovery took place on March 9 outside of an unidentified building in the Cricklewood neighborhood. When the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals( RSPCA) arrived to make the rescue, they had to call for backup. Deputy Chief Inspector Nicole Broster told the outlet that firefighters had to use car-crash rescue machinery to remove the section of the fence the cat was trapped on. The male ginger and white cat was found at 3:50 a.m. on March 9. ( SWNS) WHY YOUR PET ’S FOOD BOWL COULD BE MAKING YOU SICK When I got there I was incredibly shocked — in all my years with the RSPCA I have never seen anything like it. This poor cat literally had two metal posts protruding through his body.

4. Bertrand Russell:

   The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists - that is why they invented hell.

5. Anne Frank, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, July 15, 1944:

   It's utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.

Images & Illustrations of cruelty

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