Headway Word of the Week
⇒ Learn more words in the Word of the Week archive
cruel (adjective)
If someone is cruel, they enjoy causing pain.
- My brother was very cruel to insects when he was young. He used to pull off their legs and wings.
Cruel can also describe something that causes pain or suffering.
- On the day before the Olympic final, Smith broke his leg. It was a cruel piece of luck.
Check out collocations
- a cruel dictator
- a cruel master/mistress
- He is cruel to animals/children.
- a cruel winter
- a cruel joke
- cruel luck
- cruel treatment
- a cruel blow
(= a blow is a sudden shock that affects you badly)
Check out idiomatic uses
- He had hard, cruel eyes.
- He had a cruel streak.
(= he could sometimes be cruel) - Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind.
(= you have to do or say things that hurt people, because eventually this will help them)
Check out related words
- mean
- hard
- harsh
- sadistic
- malicious
⇒ Learn more words in the Word of the Week archive