cruel
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- cruell (obsolete)
Pronunciation edit
- enPR: kro͞oəl, IPA(key): /kɹuː(ə)l/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ʊəl, -uːl
- Hyphenation: cru‧el
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English cruel, borrowed from Old French cruel, from Latin crūdēlis (“hard, severe, cruel”), akin to crūdus (“raw, crude”); see crude.
Adjective edit
cruel (comparative crueler or crueller or more cruel, superlative cruelest or cruellest or most cruel)
- Intentionally causing or reveling in pain and suffering; merciless, heartless.
- Harsh; severe.
- Synonym: brutal
- 2013, Ranulph Fiennes, Cold: Extreme Adventures at the Lowest Temperatures on Earth:
- He was physically the toughest of us and wore five layers of polar clothing, but the cold was cruel and wore us down hour after hour.
- 1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia:
- You may be sure they watched the cliffs on their left eagerly for any sign of a break or any place where they could climb them; but those cliffs remained cruel.
- (slang) Cool; awesome; neat.
Derived terms edit
- be cruel to be kind
- cruel-hearted
- cruel mistress
- cruelly
- cruelness
- cruelsome
- goodbye, cruel world
- overcruel
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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Adverb edit
cruel (not comparable)
- (nonstandard) To a great degree; terribly.
- 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- "But I've served 'im ten years, and I'm fond of 'im, and, mind you, 'e's a great man, when all's said an' done, and it's an honor to serve 'im. But 'e does try one cruel at times."
- 2016, Kerry Greenwood, Murder and Mendelssohn, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 219:
- 'I've never got arthritis, though my old dad had it something cruel.'
Verb edit
cruel (third-person singular simple present cruels, present participle cruelling, simple past and past participle cruelled)
- (chiefly Australia, New Zealand) To spoil or ruin (one's chance of success)
- 1937, Vance Palmer, Legend for Sanderson[1], Sydney: Angus & Robertson, page 226:
- What cruelled him was that Imperial Hotel contract.
- 2014 April 1, The Sydney Morning Herald:
- He was on the fringes of Test selection last year before a shoulder injury cruelled his chances.
- 2015 September 8, The Age:
- A shortage of berth space for mega container ships will restrict capacity at Melbourne's port, cruelling Labor's attempts to get maximum value from its privatisation, a leading shipping expert has warned.
- (Australia, transitive, intransitive) To violently provoke (a child) in the belief that this will make them more assertive.
- 2007, Stewart Motha, “Reconciliation as Domination”, in Scott Veitch, editor, Law and the Politics of Reconciliation[2], Routledge, published 2016, page 83:
- Violence is apparently introduced early by the practice of "cruelling": children even in their first months are physically punished and then encouraged to seek retribution by punishing the punisher.
- 2009, Mark Colvin, ABC, "Peter Sutton discusses the politics of suffering in Aboriginal communities," 2 July, 2009, [3]
- […] I was referring to the area where you were talking about this practice of cruelling; the pinching of babies, sometimes so hard that their skin breaks and may go septic.
Etymology 2 edit
Noun edit
cruel (countable and uncountable, plural cruels)
- Alternative form of crewel
Further reading edit
- “cruel”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “cruel”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
Asturian edit
Etymology edit
Adjective edit
cruel (epicene, plural crueles)
Related terms edit
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Latin crūdēlis.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
cruel m or f (masculine and feminine plural cruels)
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “cruel” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “cruel” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Old French cruel, from Latin crūdēlis; either remade based on the Latin or evolved from the Old French form crual, possibly from a Vulgar Latin form *crūdālis.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
cruel (feminine cruelle, masculine plural cruels, feminine plural cruelles)
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “cruel”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Galician edit
Etymology edit
From Old Galician-Portuguese [Term?], from Latin crūdēlis.
Adjective edit
cruel m or f (plural crueis)
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old French crual, from Latin crūdēlis.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
cruel
- Merciless, cruel; revelling in another's pain.
- Deleterious, injurious; conducive to suffering.
- Unbearable, saddening, terrifying.
- Strict, unforgiving, mean; not nice.
- Savage, vicious, dangerous; displaying ferocity.
- Bold, valiant, heroic (in war)
- (rare) Sharp, acrid, bitter-tasting.
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “crūē̆l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
From Old Galician-Portuguese cruel, from Latin crūdēlis.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
cruel m or f (plural cruéis)
- (of a person or creature) cruel (that intentionally causes or revels in pain and suffering)
- Synonym: bárbaro
- O algoz era conhecido por ser extremamente cruel.
- The executioner was known for being extremely cruel.
- (of a situation or occurrence) cruel; harsh; severe
- (of a doubt or question) distressful
- Synonym: terrível
- Que dúvida cruel!
- What a horrible doubt!
- (of an occurrence) bloody; violent
- Synonyms: sangrento, cruento, sanguinolento
- Foi uma batalha cruel.
- It was a bloody battle.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Old Spanish, from Latin crūdēlis.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
cruel m or f (masculine and feminine plural crueles)
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “cruel”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014