Synonyms of cruelty

cruelty

noun

ˈkrü(-ə)l-tē 

as in brutality

disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others

centuries after he ravaged Europe, Attila the Hun remains notorious for his cruelty

Synonyms & Similar Words

• brutality
• atrocity
• barbarity
• inhumanity
• savagery
• sadism
• savageness
• heartlessness
• cruelness
• murderousness
• viciousness
• fiendishness
• barbarousness
• wantonness
• inhumanness
• truculence
• ruthlessness
• mercilessness
• meanness
• atrociousness
• ferocity
• oppressiveness
• pitilessness
• fierceness
• grimness
• ferociousness
• bloodthirstiness
• spitefulness
• malevolence
• maliciousness
• hatefulness
• hard-heartedness
• bloodlust
• malignity
• unfeelingness
• harshness
• sanguinity
• fellness
• nastiness
• sanguineness
• despitefulness
• cattiness
• heavy-handedness
• hardhandedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• compassion
• sympathy
• humanity
• kindness
• humaneness
• tenderness
• benignity
• warmth
• tenderheartedness
• kindheartedness
• pity
• warmness
• good-heartedness
• mercy
• leniency
• clemency
• warmheartedness
• charitableness
• mercifulness

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of cruelty

Colt Gray was arrested on murder charges while Colin Gray is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. —Alexandra Faul, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2024

Tangent The claim appears to stem from some viral posts that erroneously linked an incident in Canton, Ohio, in which a woman was arrested and charged with cruelty to companion animals for allegedly killing and eating a cat, to Springfield, the Springfield News-Sun reported. —Sara Dorn, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024

Regardless, the making of the monster lies not in the moment of senseless cruelty but in the selfish impulses most ardently encouraged and cultivated by an unforgiving world. —Andy Andersen, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2024

Unfortunately, Mama Elena, a woman driven by cruelty and customs, has other plans. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 3 Nov. 2024