cruelty
nouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈkɹuː(.ə)lti//
- United Kingdom/[ˈkɹʉwltɪj]/
- United Kingdom/[ˈkɹʊwltɪj]/
- United States//ˈkɹu(.ə)lti//
An indifference to suffering or pleasure in inflicting suffering.
noun
- 1
An indifference to suffering or pleasure in inflicting suffering.
Fear of their cargo bred a savage cruelty into the crew. One captain, to strike terror into the rest, killed a slave and dividing heart, liver and entrails into 300 pieces made each of the slaves eat one, threatening those who refused with the same torture. Such incidents were not rare.
YSL, as he is often called, is equally capable of casual, aristocratic cruelty and earthy, spontaneous tenderness, and when you study his face it can be hard to distinguish boredom from rapture.
- 2
A cruel act.
Gay songwriter behind bars! Needs sincere letter to help ease the tension from cruelties inside the joint.
Etymology
From Middle English cruelte, from Old French crualté (French cruauté), from Latin crudelitas. By surface analysis, cruel + -ty.
Forms
- plural
- cruelties
cruelty · An indifference to suffering or pleasure in inflicting suffering.
cruise · A sea or lake voyage, especially one taken for pleasure.Cruise · A surname from Anglo-Norman.cruiser · A frigate or other vessel, detached from the fleet, to cruise…