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cruel

Syllabification: (cru·el)
Pronunciation: /ˈkro͞oəl/
Translate cruel | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of cruel

adjective (crueler, cruelest ; Britishcrueller, cruellest)

  • willfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it:people who are cruel to animals a cruel remark
  • causing pain or suffering:the winters are long, hard, and cruel

Derivatives

cruelly

adverb

Origin:

Middle English: via Old French from Latin crudelis, related to crudus (see crude)

Spelling rule

Do not double the final consonant when adding endings that begin with a vowel to a word that ends in a vowel plus a consonant, if the stress is not at the end of the word (as in target): (crueler, cruelest).

cruel in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of cruel in the British & World English dictionary
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