Cruel — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kɹˈuːəl/

🇬🇧British English

/kɹˈuːəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/kɹˈuːəl/

1 syllable Say it as /kɹˈuːəl/.

Examples

a barbarous crime
brutal beatings
cruel tortures

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

fell barbarous vicious savage roughshod brutal

Parts of Speech

adjective

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

“a barbarous crime”

Word Forms

barbarousness	noun	the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane
brutality	noun	the trait of extreme cruelty
cruelness	noun	the quality of being cruel and causing tension or annoyance
savage	noun	a cruelly rapacious person
savageness	noun	the property of being untamed and ferocious
viciousness	noun	the trait of extreme cruelty

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

grausam

(von Personen oder deren Handlungen), die in der Lage oder bereit sind, Schmerz oder Leid zu verursachen

🇮🇹Italian

crudele

(di persone o delle loro azioni) in grado o disposto a infliggere dolore o sofferenza

🇳🇱Dutch

wreed

(van personen of hun daden) die in staat of geneigd zijn pijn of lijden toe te brengen

🇷🇺Russian

жестокий

(о людях или их действиях), способных или склонных причинять боль или страдания

India

🇮🇳Hindi

निर्दयी

(व्यक्तियों या उनके कार्यों का) दर्द या पीड़ा पहुंचाने में सक्षम या प्रवृत्त

🇧🇩Bengali

নিষ্ঠুর

(ব্যক্তি বা তাদের কর্মের) ব্যথা বা কষ্ট দিতে সক্ষম বা নিষ্পত্তি করা হয়েছে

🇮🇳Tamil

கொடூரமான

(நபர்கள் அல்லது அவர்களின் செயல்கள்) வலி அல்லது துன்பத்தை ஏற்படுத்தக்கூடிய அல்லது அகற்றப்பட்டவை

🇮🇳Telugu

క్రూరమైన

(వ్యక్తులు లేదా వారి చర్యలు) నొప్పి లేదా బాధను కలిగించగల సామర్థ్యం లేదా పారవేయడం

🇮🇳Marathi

क्रूर

(व्यक्ती किंवा त्यांच्या कृतींचे) वेदना किंवा दुःख देण्यास सक्षम किंवा विल्हेवाट लावलेले

🇮🇳Gujarati

ક્રૂર

(વ્યક્તિઓ અથવા તેમની ક્રિયાઓ) પીડા અથવા દુઃખ પહોંચાડવા માટે સક્ષમ અથવા નિકાલ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕ್ರೂರ

(ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳು ಅಥವಾ ಅವರ ಕ್ರಿಯೆಗಳು) ನೋವು ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಕಟವನ್ನು ಉಂಟುಮಾಡಲು ಸಮರ್ಥ ಅಥವಾ ವಿಲೇವಾರಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ക്രൂരൻ

(വ്യക്തികളുടെ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അവരുടെ പ്രവൃത്തികൾ) വേദനയോ കഷ്ടപ്പാടോ വരുത്താൻ കഴിവുള്ളതോ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ വിനിയോഗിക്കുന്നതോ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਬੇਰਹਿਮ

(ਵਿਅਕਤੀਆਂ ਜਾਂ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਕਾਰਵਾਈਆਂ ਦਾ) ਦਰਦ ਜਾਂ ਦੁੱਖ ਪਹੁੰਚਾਉਣ ਦੇ ਯੋਗ ਜਾਂ ਨਿਪਟਾਰਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

ظالمانہ

(افراد یا ان کے اعمال کا) درد یا تکلیف پہنچانے کے قابل یا ڈسپوزل

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

残忍的

（人或其行为）能够或倾向于造成痛苦或痛苦

🇯🇵Japanese

残酷な

（人やその行動について）痛みや苦痛を与えることができる、または与える傾向がある

🇰🇷Korean

잔혹한

(사람이나 그들의 행동이) 고통이나 괴로움을 줄 수 있거나 가할 수 있는 성향이 있는 경우

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tàn nhẫn

(của những người hoặc hành động của họ) có thể hoặc sẵn sàng gây ra đau đớn hoặc đau khổ

🇹🇭Thai

โหดร้าย

(ของบุคคลหรือการกระทำของพวกเขา) ที่สามารถหรือมีลักษณะที่จะทำให้เกิดความเจ็บปวดหรือความทุกข์ทรมานได้

🇮🇩Indonesian

kejam

(orang atau tindakan mereka) mampu atau cenderung menimbulkan rasa sakit atau penderitaan

🇵🇭Filipino

malupit

(ng mga tao o kanilang mga aksyon) na may kakayahan o nakalaan upang magdulot ng sakit o pagdurusa

🇲🇾Malay

kejam

(orang atau tindakan mereka) mampu atau bersedia untuk menimbulkan kesakitan atau penderitaan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

فظ

(للأشخاص أو أفعالهم) القادرين أو المستعدين لإلحاق الألم أو المعاناة

🇮🇷Persian

بی رحمانه

(افراد یا اعمال آنها) قادر یا آماده ایجاد درد یا رنج

🇹🇷Turkish

acımasız

(kişilerin veya onların eylemlerinin) acı veya ıstırap çektirmeye muktedir veya istekli olması

🇮🇱Hebrew

אַכְזָרִי

(של אנשים או מעשיהם) המסוגלים או נוטים לגרום כאב או סבל

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'cruel'?

The primary meaning of 'cruel' is '(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'cruel' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'cruel' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'cruel' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'cruel' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'cruel' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'cruel' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'cruel' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'cruel' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'cruel' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'cruel' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted