cruel

«cruel» in Mova's school dictionary: causing pain or suffering to people or animals on… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (cruel, crueller, cruellest; US crueler, cruelest)

meaning for a pupil

1) Cruel means causing pain or suffering to people or animals on purpose, or not caring when they suffer. tree →

2) Cruel can mean very hard to bear, as in cruel weather or cruel luck. tree →

sense in the lessons

In feelings and kindness lessons, pupils learn that being cruel to people or animals is wrong, and that bullying can be cruel. In stories, villains are often cruel, like the cruel stepmother. Phrases: cruel to, be cruel, cruelty to animals.

examples

• It is cruel to hurt animals. tree →
• The cruel giant locked the children in the tower. tree →
• Laughing at someone who is sad is cruel. tree →
• Cinderella's stepsisters were cruel to her. tree →
• The winter was cruel and long. tree →
• Don't be cruel; be kind. tree →
• It was a cruel twist of fate. tree →
• “How could you be so cruel? tree →

note

Comparatives: crueller, cruellest (UK); crueler, cruelest (US); more cruel is also fine. Noun: cruelty; adverb: cruelly. Spelling: c-r-u-e-l (e before l). Opposite: kind. If you see cruelty to an animal or a person, tell a grown-up.

In the corpora

• Trolling means sending many cruel messages online; you can disagree strongly with someone without abusing them.
• When someone gives a reason, like being ill, swapping it for a meaner guess is cruel.
• Three questions stop most cruel gossip: is it true, is it kind, is it needed?
• Rumours about classmates are cruel, especially about their bodies; you can stop one by not passing it on.
• Celebrities are real people with real feelings, and many have said cruel comments hurt them.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «cruel» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.