as in brutality
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
centuries after he ravaged Europe, Attila the Hun remains notorious for his cruelty
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Recent Examples of cruelty
Rosa and the Olguins' daughter Lennys pled guilty to three counts of willful child cruelty and one count each of false imprisonment and intimidating a witness.
—
Stephanie Kaloi, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026
Amid these absurdities, Manuel coaxes out the cruelty of the resort’s hierarchies.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
An animal cruelty investigation involving two dogs has ignited outrage on social media, after photos revealed the pets were tethered and abandoned during Charlotte’s weekend snow storm.
—Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cruelty
Stephanie Kaloi, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026
Amid these absurdities, Manuel coaxes out the cruelty of the resort’s hierarchies.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
An animal cruelty investigation involving two dogs has ignited outrage on social media, after photos revealed the pets were tethered and abandoned during Charlotte’s weekend snow storm.
—Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cruelty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cruelty
Noun
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The sly blend of beauty and brutality is also apparent in the film’s sound design.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
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The protagonist, Frannie’s, story begins in a plantation in Jamaica, the brutality of which is chillingly evoked, but by moving much of the novel’s action to London, Sara Collins helps show just how tightly interwoven Black Caribbean history is with the history of the UK.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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And Brundage ensures that his readers will not dismiss the record of prison atrocities.—
Drew Gilpin Faust,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
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The Buckley case spawned other loopholes from Congress and the courts over the years, directly culminating in the 2010 atrocity of the Citizens United case.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cruelty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cruelty. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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