transcription, транскрипция: [ kru:əl ]
( crueller, cruellest)
Note: in AM, use 'crueler', 'cruelest'
1.
Someone who is cruel deliberately causes pain or distress to people or animals.
Children can be so cruel...
Don’t you think it’s cruel to cage a creature up?
≠ kind
ADJ : oft it v-link ADJ to-inf
• cru‧el‧ly
Douglas was often cruelly tormented by jealous siblings.
ADV : ADV with v
2.
A situation or event that is cruel is very harsh and causes people distress.
...struggling to survive in a cruel world with which they cannot cope...
ADJ
• cru‧el‧ly
His life has been cruelly shattered by an event not of his own making.
ADV : usu ADV with v