cruelty

B2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈkɹuː(ə)lti/ See IPA manual

Freq #9811

Meanings

1

noun
Behaviour that causes pain or suffering to others, without any sympathy.

The charity works to prevent cruelty to animals.
2

noun
A cruel act.

The prisoners suffered many cruelties at the hands of their guards.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · behaviour that causes pain... barbarism mercilessness ruthlessness harshness

Word family

Forms cruelties

Derived forms anticrueltycruelty-free

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

remorseless cruelty
harsh treatment that shows no pity or regret for others' suffering

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English cruelte, from Old French crualté (French cruauté), from Latin crudelitas. By surface analysis, cruel + -ty.

*krewh₂- Proto-Indo-European cruelte Middle English crualté Old French crudelitas Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# cruelty

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɹuː(ə)lti/
**Frequency rank:** 9811

## Meanings
1. Behaviour that causes pain or suffering to others, without any sympathy.
2. A cruel act.

## Examples
- The charity works to prevent cruelty to animals.
- The prisoners suffered many cruelties at the hands of their guards.

## Derived Forms
- anticruelty
- cruelty-free

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *krewh₂-
- Root: cruelte
- Root: crualté
- Root: crudelitas
- Affix: -ty - state

## Etymology
From Middle English cruelte, from Old French crualté (French cruauté), from Latin crudelitas. By surface analysis, cruel + -ty.

## AI Etymology
cruelty comes from Middle English cruelte, from Old French crualté (French cruauté), from Latin crudelitas. By surface analysis, cruel + -ty. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂-, Middle English cruelte, Old French crualté, Latin crudelitas. Current senses include Behaviour that causes pain or suffering to others, without any sympathy and A cruel act. English relatives and later formations include anticruelty, cruelty-free.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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