See Also: cruelty(dictionary)
cruelty(dictionary)
Cruelty(law)
Theatre of Cruelty(encyclopedia)
animals, cruelty to(encyclopedia)

cruelty (iou)



cruelty noun. ME.
[Old French crualte (mod. cruaute) from Proto-Romance var. of Latin crudelitas, from crudelis: see CRUEL, -ITY.]
The quality of being cruel, disposition to inflict suffering, delight in or indifference to another's pain, mercilessness, pitilessness, hard-heartedness, esp. as exhibited in action. Also, an instance of this. ME.
mental cruelty: see MENTAL adjective1. Theatre of Cruelty: see THEATRE noun.
Severity (of pain); strictness; rigour. ME-M17.
Comb.: cruelty man colloq. an officer of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or a similar organization.