CRUEL Synonyms: 231 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'cruel' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of cruel are barbarous , ferocious , fierce , and savage . While all these words mean "showing fury or malignity in looks or actions," cruel implies indifference to suffering and even positive pleasure in inflicting it. // the cruel jokes of schoolboys

Q: When is 'barbarous' a more appropriate choice than 'cruel'?

The synonyms barbarous and cruel are sometimes interchangeable, but barbarous implies a ferocity or mercilessness regarded as unworthy of civilized people. // barbarous treatment of prisoners

Q: When is it sensible to use 'ferocious' instead of 'cruel'?

While the synonyms ferocious and cruel are close in meaning, ferocious implies extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality. // a ferocious dog

Q: When could 'fierce' be used to replace 'cruel'?

The meanings of fierce and cruel largely overlap; however, fierce applies to humans and animals that inspire terror because of their wild and menacing aspect or fury in attack. // fierce warriors

Q: In what contexts can 'savage' take the place of 'cruel'?

Although the words savage and cruel have much in common, savage implies the absence of inhibitions restraining civilized people filled with rage, lust, or other violent passion. // a savage criminal

cruel

adjective

ˈkrü(-ə)l

Definition of cruel

as in brutal

having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others a cruel dictator who tortured anyone who dared to speak out against him cruel and unusual punishments are forbidden by the U.S. Constitution

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in harsh

difficult to endure the cruel climate of the Arctic

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in painful

hard to accept or bear especially emotionally the cruel situation of being orphaned at an early age

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in malicious

having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it the bully was fond of making cruel little jabs at his victim's sore points

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word cruel different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of cruel are barbarous, ferocious, fierce, and savage. While all these words mean "showing fury or malignity in looks or actions," cruel implies indifference to suffering and even positive pleasure in inflicting it.

the cruel jokes of schoolboys

When is barbarous a more appropriate choice than cruel?

The synonyms barbarous and cruel are sometimes interchangeable, but barbarous implies a ferocity or mercilessness regarded as unworthy of civilized people.

barbarous treatment of prisoners

When is it sensible to use ferocious instead of cruel?

While the synonyms ferocious and cruel are close in meaning, ferocious implies extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality.

a ferocious dog

When could fierce be used to replace cruel?

The meanings of fierce and cruel largely overlap; however, fierce applies to humans and animals that inspire terror because of their wild and menacing aspect or fury in attack.

fierce warriors

In what contexts can savage take the place of cruel?

Although the words savage and cruel have much in common, savage implies the absence of inhibitions restraining civilized people filled with rage, lust, or other violent passion.

a savage criminal

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cruel And then — more oysters, higher this time, cruel, pleasant things cutting at my hips, banging my thighs. — Gerald R. Hunter, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026 Anthropic updates its policies to bar users being cruel to Claude, inflaming a debate about whether the company’s concern for ‘model welfare’ is wise. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 There are few days more cruel than the early days on The Traitors. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026 What holds us in thrall is the ever-shifting logic—largely cruel, occasionally kind—through which destiny plays itself out. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cruel

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cruel

Adjective

Especially for a team that's played a brutal schedule through the first six weeks.

— Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
The Broncos get a long weekend off after their brutal six-week opening stretch.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of brutal

Adjective

And now those still left in the battered city along Ukraine's southeastern front face death from hunger or disease as another harsh winter looms, with no agreement in sight for even a humanitarian evacuation.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Despite low winds and little rain, harsh surf continues to wreak havoc along Southern California's coastal communities.

— Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of harsh

Adjective

His path crosses with Naoko, a Japanese tourist carrying the weight of a painful past, and Ruby, a young child searching for his parents.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Rising financial strains on American workers are forcing them to make painful trade-offs, such as skipping medical care, to make ends meet, new research shows.

— Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of painful

Adjective

Moreover, the perpetrators do not appear to have used malicious code on the fridge controllers, potentially complicating efforts to track down who carried out the cyberattack, added Aimé.

— Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
The best way to protect yourself from malicious links that install malware and potentially access your private information is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of malicious

Adjective

So too, the possibility of Rollerball-style carnage carnivals where robots compete in vicious cage matches until only one android is still moving.

— Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Cash reserves totaling $ 7,450,869 are being used to eviscerate his opponent with a vicious barrage of ad hominem assaults, thus giving him a 61 to 1 spending edge.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

Celebrity hairstylist Brian Magallones considers this the perfect balance between a not-too-fussy and not-too-structured chignon, a style that sounds tough to style without a professional team but is actually quite easy to master at-home.

— Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
Coming off that dominant performance against the Yankees, Rasmussen went six-plus tough innings.

— Rob Maaddi, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of tough

Adjective

The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Alberto Sierra’s estranged wife and her two young daughters detailed on Friday their torturous final moments, testifying during Sierra’s death penalty trial.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
In a wartorn country where air travel is too perilous to even consider, the roads are the obvious option, but are jammed, precarious, and cursed with long, torturous border queues.

— Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of torturous

Adjective

Ossoff went a step further, accusing Collins himself of amplifying hateful content and saying that his former congressional aide had intervened on behalf of a Holocaust denier.

— AJC.com, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Online trolls posting hateful comments on social media don't establish how the crowd at Gainbridge behaves.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of hateful

Browse Nearby Words

cruds

cruel

cruelly

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Cruel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cruel. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of cruel

adjective

Synonym Chooser

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes