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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Cruelty \Cru"el*ty\ (-t[y^]), noun; pl. {Cruelties} (-t[i^]z). [OF. cruelt['e], F. cruaut['e], fr. L. crudelitas, fr. crudelis. See {Cruel}.]
1. The attribute or quality of being cruel; a disposition to give unnecessary pain or suffering to others; inhumanity; barbarity.
Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty. --Shak.
2. A cruel and barbarous deed; inhuman treatment; the act of willfully causing unnecessary pain.
Cruelties worthy of the dungeons of the Inquisition.
Macaulay.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
cruelty
noun
1: a cruel act; a deliberate infliction of pain and suffering [syn: {inhuman treatment}]
2: feelings of extreme heartlessness [syn: {mercilessness}, {pitilessness}, {ruthlessness}]
3: the quality of being cruel and causing tension or annoyance [syn: {cruelness}, {harshness}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
52 Moby Thesaurus words for "cruelty": 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
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |