noun
cruelty
KROO-ul-tee/ˈkruːəlti/
Behavior that causes suffering deliberately or without caring.
The children's deliberate exclusion of their classmate shows cruelty.
Etymology
The pieces name the quality of being hard-hearted. Cruelty described indifference to or pleasure in suffering, then also came to name acts expressing that disposition.
In context
A woman who came to him suffering, seeking help. He mocks her body. He suggests she's unfit to reproduce. There's cruelty there, disguised as clinical observation.
More examples
- She condemned the cruelty of the punishment.
- The story explores both kindness and cruelty.
- He spoke against cruelty to animals.
Forms
cruelty
Similar words
- brutality
- Usually stronger, often implying violent or severe treatment.
- malice
- Malice emphasizes the intention to harm rather than the causing of suffering.