cruel

adjective crueler · crueller · more cruel · cruelest · cruellest · most cruel

1. Intentionally causing or reveling in pain and suffering; merciless, heartless. The supervisor was very cruel to Josh, as he would always give Josh the hardest, most degrading work he could find.

   Similar: inhuman, sadistic, spiteful · Opposite: merciful

2. Harsh; severe. We're certainly having quite a cruel winter this year.

   Similar: brutal, callous, strict, cold, insensate, hardhanded, cold-eyed, cruel, dour, thick-skinned, flint-hearted, forbidding

3. slang Cool; awesome; neat.

Similar: barbarous, bowelless, brutal, compassionless, cruel, flagitious, demonic, despiteful, diabolic, diabolical, fell, incessive, inclement, inhuman, inhumane, malicious, merciless, nasty, nonhumane, pitiless, remorseless, rotten, ruthless, sadistic, savage, spiteful, truculent, unbenevolent, unbenign, unkind · Opposite: kindly, merciful

adverb cruell

1. nonstandard, not comparable To a great degree; terribly. "But I've served 'im ten years, and I'm fond of 'im, and, mind you, 'e's a great man, when all's said an' done, and it's an honor to serve 'im. But 'e does try one cruel at times."

verb cruels · crueling · cruelling · crueled · cruelled

1. Australia, New Zealand To spoil or ruin (one's chance of success) What cruelled him was that Imperial Hotel contract.
2. Australia, ambitransitive To violently provoke (a child) in the belief that this will make them more assertive. Violence is apparently introduced early by the practice of "cruelling": children even in their first months are physically punished and then encouraged to seek retribution by punishing the punisher.

noun cruels · cruell

1. alternative, countable, uncountable Alternative form of crewel