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/krˈulti/ /krˈuəlti/ Listen

noun

Cruelty n. (pl. cruelties)

The attribute or quality of being cruel; a disposition to give unnecessary pain or suffering to others; inhumanity; barbarity. "Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty."

A cruel and barbarous deed; inhuman treatment; the act of willfully causing unnecessary pain. "Cruelties worthy of the dungeons of the Inquisition." "Macaulay."

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Etymology of 'Cruelty'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Cruelty" Quotes from Famous Books

... hold upon her gaze, as if it afforded him bodily support. He felt that he ought to stoop and take up his hat, but he dared not look away from her. "Do you not err now, on the side of cruelty?" ...

— The Damnation of Theron Ware • Harold Frederic

... friendly and kindly, cheerful and forbearing, even when vexation or indignation on his part might have been excusable. And they also acknowledged that "he wasna a man who keepit a calm sough, and slippet oot o' things just to save himself trouble." He could be angry—and show it, too—where cruelty, or dishonesty, or treachery came under his eye, or where blasphemous words were uttered in his hearing. And there were two or three of the evildoers of the place who had been made to feel the weight of his words, and ...

— Allison Bain - By a Way she knew not • Margaret Murray Robertson

... are the loudest in their condemnation of divorce could not sanction marriage under certain conditions. I wonder if these people know that many of the divorces that are granted under the head of cruelty really are granted because one of the parties has contracted one of the loathsome black plagues. No humane person could condemn a woman for refusing to live with a man and take the almost certain risk of contracting ...

— Herself - Talks with Women Concerning Themselves • E. B. Lowry

... partly to draw away a portion of the enemy's forces from the theatre of war on the lakes. Miramichi and the villages along the Bay of Chaleurs and at Point Gaspe were partially or wholly destroyed, and although no needless cruelty may have been added to the inevitable horrors involved in such an expedition, the sufferings of the peaceful inhabitants of the devoted districts cannot but excite the deepest commiseration. Their dwellings were burnt, ...

— The King's Warrant - A Story of Old and New France • Alfred H. Engelbach

... scarce-wel-lighted flame; 20 And in his Garland as he stood, Ye might discern a Cipress bud. Once had the early Matrons run To greet her of a lovely son, And now with second hope she goes, And calls Lucina to her throws; But whether by mischance or blame Atropos for Lucina came; And with remorsles cruelty, Spoil'd at once both fruit and tree: 30 The haples Babe before his birth Had burial, yet not laid in earth, And the languisht Mothers Womb Was not long a living Tomb. So have I seen som tender slip Sav'd with care from Winters nip, The pride of her carnation ...

— The Poetical Works of John Milton • John Milton

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