crueler or crueller; cruelest or cruellest
1
: disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings
a cruel tyrant
has a cruel heart
2
a
: causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain
a cruel joke
a cruel twist of fate
b
: unrelieved by leniency
cruel punishment
cruelness
noun
Examples of cruel in a Sentence
a cruel twist of fate
Hunger is a cruel fact of nature.
Recent Examples on the Web
For some of us long-suffering fans, football inspires less Messianic zeal than an annual reminder that this is a dark and cruel world and any delusional preseason hope will be quickly and thoroughly snuffed out.
—
Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
But one simply has to appreciate the cruel irony of such a deluxe number being knocked down by a pedestrian bus rather than, say, a Rolls-Royce or a Daimler.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2025
Many local government officials, reformers, and policymakers in the 19th century saw vagrancy laws as futile at best, cruel at worst.
—Time, 16 Sep. 2025
Bichette is a free agent at the end of the season, so the idea that his time in a Blue Jays uniform could end without getting his shot to impact the postseason is cruel indeed.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cruel
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Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
But one simply has to appreciate the cruel irony of such a deluxe number being knocked down by a pedestrian bus rather than, say, a Rolls-Royce or a Daimler.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2025
Many local government officials, reformers, and policymakers in the 19th century saw vagrancy laws as futile at best, cruel at worst.
—Time, 16 Sep. 2025
Bichette is a free agent at the end of the season, so the idea that his time in a Blue Jays uniform could end without getting his shot to impact the postseason is cruel indeed.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cruel
Cite this Entry
“Cruel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruel. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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