Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for cruel. Search instead for truel.
Definitions

cruel

[kroo-uhl] / ˈkru əl /
ADJECTIVE
vicious, pitiless; causing pain
Synonyms
STRONGEST
atrocious barbarous bitter brutal callous cold-blooded evil harsh hateful heartless inhuman inhumane merciless painful relentless ruthless sadistic spiteful tyrannical unkind vicious wicked
WEAK
bestial bloodthirsty brutish degenerate demoniac depraved excruciating ferocious fierce flinty hard hard-hearted hellish implacable inexorable malevolent monstrous pernicious poignant rancorous revengeful sinful unfeeling unnatural unrelenting vengeful virulent
Antonyms
STRONGEST
compassionate considerate decent easy feeling friendly gentle giving good helpful humane kind merciful mild moral nice pleasant pleasing polite sympathetic
WEAK
charitable thoughtful uncruel

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.

In 1855, Natalie is unsure who’s watching — a cruel producer?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

“He is not ugly. This society is, when it’s greedy and cruel and doesn’t take care of people. Not him.”

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

"The cruel irony is that AI-generated code requires more careful review than human-written code," software engineer Siddhant Khare wrote in a blog post.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

In the letter, Almog proposed "to stop this way of deciding the winner by drawing lots, an immoral and even cruel system for the losing team and not honourable for the winner".

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

Trying to stop them from being cruel was like trying to stop the tides.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood