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

After facing neglect and cruelty, 27 Chihuahuas are getting a well-deserved dose of human kindness. —Kelli Bender, People.com, 12 Dec. 2024

Barbaro plays Baez with a wry and knowing dream girl mystique that makes Dylan’s cruelty towards her all the more pointed. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Dec. 2024

The district attorney’s office has charged Jones with one count of murder and one count of willful cruelty to a child causing possible injury or death. —Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024

By the time of the debate, Ferrell had been charged with cruelty to companion animals, a felony offense, and was held on a $100,000 bond, court records seen by Newsweek showed. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024