cruel

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

Etymology

From Middle English cruel, borrowed from Old French cruel, from Latin crūdēlis (“hard, severe, cruel”), akin to crūdus (“raw, crude”); see crude.

In classic literature

Synonyms

barbarous, brutal, fell, roughshod, savage, vicious

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