How to Use cruel in a Sentence

cruel

adjective
Definition of cruelnext
Synonyms for cruelnext
  • Hunger is a cruel fact of nature.
  • The measure passed Thursday is one of the cruelest yet.
    — Tori Otten, The New Republic, 4 May 2023
  • As the clock winds down, Fenn might be in for a cruel summer.
    — Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2023
  • The reality is, to go on the run with the child is cruel and not fair.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2024
  • The former is humble and kind, the latter is rich and cruel.
    — Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 6 Apr. 2023
  • But the school’s photographer assigned me to the back row, next to the tallest boy in the class—such cruel fate!
    — Thessaly La Force, Vogue, 18 Jan. 2024
  • Shih has a rich voice and a stillness in his manner that makes his cruel words linger.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Oct. 2023
  • The rumors are terrible and cruel but this time, one of them was true.
    — Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Gracie has a rather cruel habit of telling her teenage daughter that her arms are too fat.
    — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Gay quickly chimed in, citing cruel names that the page has posted about her.
    — TIME, 24 Jan. 2024
  • And given the cruel injustice of Juneteenth, the last of those pioneers had to have been from Texas.
    — Mitchell S. Jackson, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
  • To reintroduce the beloved Tennant only to kill him again would have been cruel, and hardly the way to embark on a new era.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023
  • For many residents, winding their way through the building was like a cruel maze.
    — Lynsey Chutel, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2023
  • Brain Freeze Challenge One of the best challenges for summertime, or the cruelest for winter.
    — Leah Campano, Seventeen, 8 Apr. 2023
  • As the years go by, Christof’s efforts to keep Truman in Seahaven become more extreme and more cruel.
    — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 20 June 2023
  • The state, not a physician, is responsible to find a method of punishment that is not cruel.
    — Joel B. Zivot, STAT, 26 Feb. 2024
  • Read: When a lie becomes your breakout film Perhaps that sounds cruel.
    — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2024
  • As the battle for the Cup begins Saturday night, the series is rife with cruel reminders of what might have been in Boston.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 2 June 2023
  • But seeing my sister-in-law cry on a roof deck made any teachable moment seem cruel.
    — Weike Wang, The New Yorker, 19 June 2023
  • The Handoff For thousands of migrants, the normalization of this route has set up a cruel paradox.
    — Julie Turkewitz Federico Rios, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023
  • The cruel irony about Pitchfork getting restructured now is that the site has never been better.
    — Hazlitt, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Donald Trump has promised to revive the cruel Muslim ban, and to expel anyone who supports Hamas.
    — Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2023
  • Publicly coming out with a new girlfriend so soon after breaking up with your wife and the mother of your brand-new child is just a cruel thing to do.
    — Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 26 July 2023
  • But what about the cruel swindle of the slave trade, and of imperial domination?
    — Lynn Steger Strong, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2023
  • The land leases were renewed with residents on a yearly basis with a cruel clause: With just ten days’ notice, the city could take over.
    — Curbed, 23 Dec. 2023
  • Its cruel irony cuts deep because of the brilliant ride Singleton, Andron, and the Snowfall writers took us on.
    — Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2023
  • His cruel reaction is telling, chilling and sets off the events that unveil what might have been happening all along.
    — Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2023
  • During this time of the day, when the women have just finished preparing lunch and the afternoon sun is at its cruelest, the center serves as a cooling refuge.
    — Anant Gupta, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
  • The whole movie is sadistic, but the catalyzing act of violence is by far the most cruel, compounded by a few too many lovey-dovey flashbacks.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 6 Oct. 2023
  • Many audience members will judge his treatment of his son as cruel.
    — Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cruel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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