# cruel
## English
### Alternative forms

* cruell (obsolete)

### Pronunciation

* enPR: kro͞oəl, IPA: /ˈkɹuːəl/, (also) /kɹuːl/, /kɹʊəl/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -uːəl, -uːl, -ʊəl
* Hyphenation: cru‧el

### Etymology 1

From Middle English cruel, borrowed from Old French cruel, from Latin crūdēlis (“hard, severe, cruel”), akin to crūdus (“raw, crude”); see crude.

#### Adjective

cruel (comparative crueler or crueller or more cruel, superlative cruelest or cruellest or most cruel)
* Intentionally causing or reveling in pain and suffering; merciless, heartless.
    Synonym: sadistic
    Antonym: merciful
    The supervisor was very cruel to Josh, as he would always give Josh the hardest, most degrading work he could find.
* Harsh; severe.
    Synonym: brutal
    We're certainly having quite a cruel winter this year.
** 2013, Ranulph Fiennes, Cold: Extreme Adventures at the Lowest Temperatures on Earth:He was physically the toughest of us and wore five layers of polar clothing, but the cold was cruel and wore us down hour after hour.
** 1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia:You may be sure they watched the cliffs on their left eagerly for any sign of a break or any place where they could climb them; but those cliffs remained cruel.
* (slang) Cool; awesome; neat.

##### Derived terms

* be cruel to be kind
* cruel-hearted
* cruelize
* cruelly
* cruel mistress
* cruelness
* cruelsome
* goodbye, cruel world
* over-cruel
* overcruel
* uncruel

##### Related terms

* crude
* cruelty

##### Translations
#### Adverb

cruel (not comparable)
* (nonstandard) To a great degree; terribly.
** 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:"But I've served 'im ten years, and I'm fond of 'im, and, mind you, 'e's a great man, when all's said an' done, and it's an honor to serve 'im. But 'e does try one cruel at times."
** 2016, Kerry Greenwood, Murder and Mendelssohn, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 219:'I've never got arthritis, though my old dad had it something cruel.'

#### Verb

cruel (third-person singular simple present cruels, present participle cruelling, simple past and past participle cruelled)
* (chiefly Australia, New Zealand) To spoil or ruin (one's chance of success)
** 1937, Vance Palmer, Legend for Sanderson‎, Sydney: Angus & Robertson, page 226:What cruelled him was that Imperial Hotel contract.
** 2014 April 1, The Sydney Morning Herald:He was on the fringes of Test selection last year before a shoulder injury cruelled his chances.
** 2015 September 8, The Age:A shortage of berth space for mega container ships will restrict capacity at Melbourne's port, cruelling Labor's attempts to get maximum value from its privatisation, a leading shipping expert has warned.
* (Australia, ambitransitive) To violently provoke (a child) in the belief that this will make them more assertive.
** 2007, Stewart Motha, “Reconciliation as Domination”, in Scott Veitch, editor, Law and the Politics of Reconciliation‎, Routledge, published 2016, page 83:Violence is apparently introduced early by the practice of "cruelling": children even in their first months are physically punished and then encouraged to seek retribution by punishing the punisher.
** 2009, Mark Colvin, ABC, "Peter Sutton discusses the politics of suffering in Aboriginal communities," 2 July, 2009,
    […] I was referring to the area where you were talking about this practice of cruelling; the pinching of babies, sometimes so hard that their skin breaks and may go septic.

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

cruel (countable and uncountable, plural cruels)
* Alternative form of crewel.

#### Further reading

* “cruel”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “cruel”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* lucre, ulcer

## Asturian
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin crūdēlis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈkɾwel/ [ˈkɾwel]
* Rhymes: -el
* Syllabification: cruel

### Adjective

cruel (epicene, plural crueles)
* cruel

#### Related terms

* crudu
* crueldá

## Catalan
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin crūdēlis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [kɾuˈɛl]

### Adjective

cruel m or f (masculine and feminine plural cruels)
* cruel

#### Derived terms

* cruelment

#### Related terms

* crueltat
* cru

### Further reading

* “cruel” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “cruel” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Old French cruel, from Latin crūdēlis; either remade based on the Latin or evolved from the Old French form crual, possibly from a Vulgar Latin form *crūdālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kʁy.ɛl/
* Audio:(file)
* Homophones: cruels, cruelle, cruelles

### Adjective

cruel (feminine cruelle, masculine plural cruels, feminine plural cruelles)
* cruel
* hard, painful

#### Synonyms

* féroce
* pénible

#### Derived terms

* cruellement

#### Related terms

* cruauté
* cru

### Further reading

* “cruel”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

### Anagrams

* culer
* recul

## Galician
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese cruel, from Latin crūdēlis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈkɾwɛl/ [ˈkɾwɛɫ], /kɾuˈɛl/ [kɾuˈɛɫ]
* Rhymes: -ɛl
* Hyphenation: cru‧el

### Adjective

cruel m or f (plural crueis)
* cruel

#### Derived terms

* cruelment

#### Related terms

* cru
* crueldade

### Further reading

* “cruel”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
* “cruel” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* kruell, cruele, cruwel, crewel, cruell, cruwelle, crewelle, cruelle, crowell

### Etymology

From Old French crual, from Latin crūdēlis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kriu̯ˈɛːl/, /ˈkriu̯ɛl/, /ˈkriu̯əl/, /ˈkruəl/

### Adjective

cruel
* Merciless, cruel; revelling in another's pain.
* Deleterious, injurious; conducive to suffering.
* Unbearable, saddening, terrifying.
* Strict, unforgiving, mean; not nice.
* Savage, vicious, dangerous; displaying ferocity.
* Bold, valiant, heroic (in war)
* (rare) Sharp, acrid, bitter-tasting.

#### Derived terms

* cruelheed
* cruelly
* cruelnesse
* cruelte

#### Descendants

* English: cruel
* Scots: cruel

#### References

* “crūē̆l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese cruel, from Latin crūdēlis.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /kɾuˈɛw/ [kɾʊˈɛʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ˈkɾwɛw/ [ˈkɾwɛʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /kɾuˈɛl/ [kɾuˈɛɫ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈkɾwɛl/ [ˈkɾwɛɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /kɾuˈɛl/ [kɾuˈɛɫ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈkɾwɛl/ [ˈkɾwɛɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /kɾuˈɛ.li/, (faster pronunciation) /ˈkɾwɛ.li/
* Rhymes: (Portugal) -ɛl, (Brazil) -ɛw
* Hyphenation: cru‧el

### Adjective

cruel m or f (plural cruéis)
* (of a person or creature) cruel (that intentionally causes or revels in pain and suffering)
    Synonym: bárbaro
    O algoz era conhecido por ser extremamente cruel.The executioner was known for being extremely cruel.
* (of a situation or occurrence) cruel; harsh; severe
    Synonyms: severo, terrível, pesado
    Ele recebeu uma cruel mas merecida sentença.He received a harsh but deserved sentenced.
* (of a doubt or question) distressful
    Synonym: terrível
    Que dúvida cruel!What a horrible doubt!
* (of an occurrence) bloody; violent
    Synonyms: sangrento, cruento, sanguinolento
    Foi uma batalha cruel.It was a bloody battle.

#### Derived terms

* cruelmente

#### Related terms

* cru
* crueldade

## Spanish
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish, from Latin crūdēlis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈkɾwel/ [ˈkɾwel]
* Rhymes: -el
* Syllabification: cruel

### Adjective

cruel m or f (masculine and feminine plural crueles)
* cruel
* mean
    Synonym: malo

#### Derived terms

* cruelmente

#### Related terms

* crudo
* crueldad

### Further reading

* “cruel”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10