cruel

Pronunciation: /krʊəl/

Definition of cruel

wilfully 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

[with object] Australian informal

spoil or ruin (an opportunity or a chance of success):Ernie nearly cruelled the whole thing by laughing
[ late 19th century: perhaps influenced by the idiom queer someone's pitch (see queer)]

Phrases

be cruel to be kind: act towards someone in a way which seems harsh but will ultimately be of benefit to them: George did not like being firm with Lennie but he knew that he had to be cruel to be kind
cruel and unusual punishment: a category of excessively severe punishment banned under the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution (and originally under the English Bill of Rights): this is an important case that confronts the issue of what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment

cruelly: [sentence adverb]:cruelly, the winning points stemmed from the only mistake made by Morris

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

Double the l when adding endings which begin with a vowel to words which end in a vowel plus l: (crueller, cruellest).

Definition of cruel in the US English dictionary