cruelness C2+ Topic:Describing People US /ˈkruəlnəs/ UK /ˈkruːəlnəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the quality of being cruel; cruelty The cruelness of the punishment shocked even his enemies. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the quality of being cruel;... crueltybrutalitysavageryheartlessnessbarbaritycallousness ↔ Opposites kindnesscompassionmercygentleness Word family Related forms cruelcruelty Etymology AI details From 'cruel' + the suffix '-ness'; 'cruel' comes via Old French from Latin 'crūdēlis' ('hard, severe, unfeeling'), related to 'crūdus' ('raw'). crūdēlis Latin crūdus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # cruelness **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈkruəlnəs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkruːəlnəs/ ## Meanings 1. the quality of being cruel; cruelty ## Examples - The cruelness of the punishment shocked even his enemies. ## Synonyms - cruelty - brutality - savagery - heartlessness - barbarity - callousness ## Antonyms - kindness - compassion - mercy - gentleness ## Related Forms - cruel - cruelty ## Roots and Affixes - Root: crūdēlis - Root: crūdus ## Etymology From 'cruel' + the suffix '-ness'; 'cruel' comes via Old French from Latin 'crūdēlis' ('hard, severe, unfeeling'), related to 'crūdus' ('raw'). ## AI Etymology Cruelness is from 'cruel' + the suffix '-ness'; 'cruel' comes via Old French from Latin 'crūdēlis' ('hard, severe, unfeeling'), related to 'crūdus' ('raw'). The ancestry passes through Latin crūdēlis and Latin crūdus. The suffix -ness marks an abstract noun of quality or state, so the English form is shaped by recognizable word formation as well as by its inherited or borrowed base. In present use as a noun, it means "the quality of being cruel; cruelty", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include cruel and cruelty. ## Topics - Describing People - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown