cruel

Formscruels

1. 1
   adjective

   Wanting to hurt others and enjoying their pain, with no pity.

   Like someone who hurts a small animal just to enjoy its pain.

   The cruel king made his servants work without rest.

   It was cruel to leave the dog out in the freezing cold.

   Similarheartless, merciless, sadistic

   Oppositemerciful, kind

   Note
2. 2
   adjective

   Very harsh, hard, or painful to deal with.

   Like a test that is far harder than it needs to be.

   We had a cruel winter with snow on the ground for months.

   Losing by a single point was a cruel end to the season.

   Similarbrutal, harsh, severe

   Oppositemild, gentle, merciful, kind

   Note
3. 3
   adjectiveslang

   Very cool, great, or impressive, in slang use.

   Like saying something is awesome or amazing.

   That skateboard trick was totally cruel!

   You got front-row tickets? That's so cruel!

   Similarawesome, wicked, sick, cool, brilliant

   Oppositelame, rubbish

   Note
4. 4
   adverbnonstandard

   Extremely, or to a very great degree.

   Like saying 'super' or 'really' before a word to make it stronger.

   It was cruel cold out on the open road that night.

   She was cruel tired after the long shift.

   Similarmighty, awful, terribly, real, powerful

   Note
5. 5
   verbAustraliaNew Zealandtransitive

   To ruin or spoil someone's chance of doing well.

   Like knocking over your own tower right before you finish it.

   One silly mistake can cruel your chances of winning.

   Bad weather might cruel our plans for the trip.

   Similarruin, spoil, scupper, dash, wreck

   Note
6. 6
   verbAustraliatransitive or intransitive

   To bully or provoke a child on purpose, hoping it will make them tougher.

   Like teasing someone on purpose, hoping they learn to fight back.

   Some parents used to cruel their kids to toughen them up.

   He believed you had to cruel a boy to make him brave.

   Similartorment, taunt, tease, goad

   Note

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