| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024cru•el /ˈkruəl/USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est. - willfully causing pain to others:people who are cruel to animals.
- enjoying the pain or distress of others:a cruel and selfish tyrant.
- causing or marked by great pain or distress:a cruel war.
- severe;
merciless;
brutal:a cruel winter.
cru•el•ly, adv. cru•el•ness, n. [uncountable] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024cru•el (kro̅o̅′əl),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est. - willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others.
- enjoying the pain or distress of others:the cruel spectators of the gladiatorial contests.
- causing or marked by great pain or distress:a cruel remark; a cruel affliction.
- rigid;
stern;
strict;
unrelentingly severe.
- Latin crūdēlis, equivalent. to crūd(us) (see crude) + -ēlis adjective, adjectival suffix
- Anglo-French, Old French
- Middle English 1175–1225
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged bloodthirsty, ferocious, merciless, relentless. Cruel, pitiless, ruthless, brutal, savage imply readiness to cause pain to others. Cruel implies willingness to cause pain, and indifference to suffering:a cruel stepfather.Pitiless adds the idea of refusal to show compassion:pitiless to captives.Ruthless implies cruelty and unscrupulousness, letting nothing stand in one's way:ruthless greed.Brutal implies cruelty that takes the form of physical violence:a brutal master.Savage suggests fierceness and brutality:savage battles.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged kind.
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged sympathetic, compassionate.
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