CRUEL
What does "CRUEL" mean?
Willing to cause pain or suffering to others, or showing no concern for it.
Meanings
- Deliberately causing pain or distress, or indifferent to it. It was cruel to leave the dog out in the cold.
- Causing severe hardship or suffering, said of circumstances. A cruel winter killed half the herd.
Did you know?
- Cruelty is etymologically 'rawness of heart': 'cruel' grows from Latin 'crudus' (raw, bloody), the very same root that gives us 'crude'.
Word origin
From Latin 'crudelis' (hard-hearted, unfeeling), from 'crudus' (raw, bloody); the same root that gives us 'crude' and 'cruor' (blood).
Remember it
CRUEL hides 'rue' - the regret a victim feels and the herb of sorrow - right in its middle.
A little poem
The frost does not mean harm, and still it kills-
but a hand that could be gentle and is not
invents the one cruelty the winter never thought.
tercet
What it teaches
Indifference can be as cruel as malice: the cold that ignores you and the hand that strikes you both leave a mark.
Quick facts
What does CRUEL mean?
Willing to cause pain or suffering to others, or showing no concern for it.
Is CRUEL a valid word?
Yes — CRUEL is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is CRUEL?
CRUEL has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does CRUEL come from?
From Latin 'crudelis' (hard-hearted, unfeeling), from 'crudus' (raw, bloody); the same root that gives us 'crude' and 'cruor' (blood).
What can CRUEL teach us?
Indifference can be as cruel as malice: the cold that ignores you and the hand that strikes you both leave a mark.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.