cruel
adjective /ˈkruːəl/
/ˈkruːəl/
(crueller, cruellest, US English crueler, cruelest)
Idioms - having a desire to cause physical or mental pain and make somebody suffer
- He was known to be a cruel dictator.
- cruel to somebody/something I can't stand people who are cruel to animals.
- Her eyes were cruel and hard.
- Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind (= make somebody suffer because it will be good for them later).
- an extremely cruel regime
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- sound
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- to
- causing physical or mental pain and making somebody suffer
- a cruel joke/hoax
- cruel punishment
- It was a cruel irony that he, being gravely ill, would survive his family.
- It would be a cruel twist of fate if he escaped only to starve to death once outside.
- Her father's death was a cruel blow.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- sound
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- to
Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from Latin crudelis, related to crudus ‘raw, rough’.
Idioms
cruel and unusual punishment
- a category of very severe punishment that is banned under US law
- This important case confronts the issue of what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
- Detainees are subjected to malnutrition, forced labor, and to other cruel and unusual punishments.