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Definitions

cruel

[kroo-uhl] / ˈkru əl /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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But in a cruel twist, Cubans are still spending much of their days without electricity despite the surge in new solar capacity.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 9, 2026

The club's head coach David Artell described him as "just such a good guy", adding: "Life can be really cruel."

From BBC Aug. 6, 2026

The way the schools had been run was "authoritarian" and "cruel", some said.

From BBC Aug. 3, 2026

The figurative enemy, Hofstadter wrote, “is a perfect model of malice, a kind of amoral superman — sinister, ubiquitous, powerful, cruel, sensual, luxury-loving.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 29, 2026

“I thought you were a kind boy. You wouldn’t be so cruel as to leave a girl and her parents waiting alone, would you? You’ll break her mother’s heart!”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Trump’s treatment of Cornyn was crueler than that of Cassidy.

From Slate May 30, 2026

To Valerie’s credit, she transformed her “Room and Bored” struggles into an Emmy-winning performance on its crueler version, “Seeing Red.”

From Salon Mar. 26, 2026

“But I don’t recall crueler words ever said about me.”

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 17, 2026

I recognize, of course, that life isn’t fair and that many families are grappling with circumstances far crueler than ours.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 22, 2025

Somehow that made the maze seem like an even crueler place.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

Tennis is the cruelest game for a variety of reasons, Mr. Futterman contends.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 3, 2026

But at the same time, even under the cruelest dictatorships, it has still managed to produce fine literature.

From Barron's May 21, 2026

Some Wall Street analysts are insisting that April — contrary to its label as the cruelest month — is actually one of the better months for the U.S. stock market.

From MarketWatch Apr. 1, 2026

Yet none found the back of the net, leaving the game to be decided on penalties, the cruelest, meanest, most unfair — and most exciting — way to determine a winner.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 25, 2025

Or unless she’s playing the cruelest game of all.

From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender




Vocabulary lists containing cruel


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