'Cruelty' definitions:
Definition of 'cruelty'
(from WordNet)
noun
A cruel act; a deliberate infliction of pain and suffering [syn: cruelty, inhuman treatment]
noun
noun
Definition of 'Cruelty'
From: GCIDE
- Cruelty \Cru"el*ty\ (-t[y^]), n.; pl. Cruelties (-t[i^]z). [OF. cruelt['e], F. cruaut['e], fr. L. crudelitas, fr. crudelis. See Cruel.] [1913 Webster]
- 1. The attribute or quality of being cruel; a disposition to give unnecessary pain or suffering to others; inhumanity; barbarity. [1913 Webster]
- Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 2. A cruel and barbarous deed; inhuman treatment; the act of willfully causing unnecessary pain. [1913 Webster]
- Cruelties worthy of the dungeons of the Inquisition.
- Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'cruelty'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- animality,
- atrociousness,
- atrocity,
- barbarity,
- barbarousness,
- beastliness,
- bestiality,
- bloodiness,
- bloodlust,
- bloodthirst,
- bloodthirstiness,
- bloody-mindedness,
- brutality,
- brutalness,
- brutishness,
- cannibalism,
- cruelness,
- ferociousness,
- ferocity,
- fiendishness,
- fierceness,
- flintiness,
- hardness,
- harshness,
- heartlessness,
- inclemency,
- inexorableness,
- inhumaneness,
- inhumanity,
- mercilessness,
- pitilessness,
- relentlessness,
- remorselessness,
- ruthlessness,
- sadism,
- sadistic cruelty,
- sanguineousness,
- savagery,
- short shrift,
- tender mercies,
- truculence,
- uncompassionateness,
- unfeelingness,
- unforgivingness,
- unmercifulness,
- unremorsefulness,
- unsympatheticness,
- unyieldingness,
- vandalism,
- viciousness,
- violence,
- wanton cruelty