How to Use cruelty in a Sentence

cruelty

noun
  • The cruelty of children can be surprising.
  • They protested against cruelty to animals.
  • The movie is a study of how avoidance is its own form of cruelty.
    Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
  • There were some ironies, not to say cruelties, to this mission.
    Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
  • Some of them, who had suffered the regime’s cruelties and hypocrisies, viewed their contacts with the journalists as a chance to set the record straight.
    Paul Musgrave, Washington Post, 3 July 2023
  • The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs What does cancer smell like?
    Magazine, 7 Mar. 2023
  • To end this cruelty, the U.S. must apply more pressure.
    Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
  • The sister of the teen with cerebral palsy who died at the Blouins’ home in 1997 wrote that the couple’s cruelty knew no bounds — and yet no one stopped them for years.
    Andrea Estes, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Mar. 2023
  • This year the formula for the oil will be animal-cruelty free.
    Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Without the veneer of celebrity, all that remains is the cruelty.
    Jamil Smith, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2023
  • Irvin has been charged with six counts of animal cruelty and two counts of burglary.
    Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Amid an air of myth that abets a plot twist, the play reflects on prejudice and cruelty in a way that resonates for this country.
    Celia Wren, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023
  • Irvin faces six charges of animal cruelty and two charges of burglary.
    Dallas News, 8 Feb. 2023
  • That’s a lot for a child to grapple with—not understanding why living your truth is met with so much cruelty.
    Kellee Terrell, Harper's BAZAAR, 16 May 2023
  • In other posts, Chaudry denounced the cruelty of the violence of Israel’s attacks in Gaza.
    Katie Shepherd, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
  • How many gay men died because of Robertson’s and Reagan’s cruelty?
    Jay Michaelson, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2023
  • A couple of Reddit users commented that keeping the tiger in a cage was a form of animal cruelty.
    Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2024
  • Calabrese-Lewis is now facing charges of felony murder and first-degree child cruelty in the death of Nirvana Oliver, who was just shy of 2 years old.
    Rosana Hughes, ajc, 12 May 2023
  • Nothing exemplifies the reach and cruelty of the state today as much as its prison system.
    Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024
  • The Castros are also charged with concealing a death and cruelty to children.
    Louis Casiano, Fox News, 14 Sep. 2023
  • But his journey to stardom was rife with cruelty, deceit and poverty.
    Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
  • At a time of coarsening of public discourse, Oz worked across sectors to show that courage does not require cruelty.
    Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 13 Apr. 2023
  • What finally drove Zelia to sue for divorce, on the grounds of cruelty and neglect, remains elusive.
    Merilee Grindle, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2023
  • Every lack of response, every blind-eye turned, every coward who says nothing in the face of cruelty.
    Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Oct. 2023
  • And there is a confidence and a regality to his cruelty.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2023
  • The guards pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor cruelty counts.
    Nolan Clay, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2023
  • Bud had been to hell and back, from the bottom of Omaha to the top of the world, all while maintaining the slow-talkin’, good-natured mannerisms that could’ve been lost to the cruelties of his comeuppance.
    Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2023
  • There’s a cruelty, and maybe a little laziness, in focusing solely on Wembanyama‘s size.
    Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2023
  • Garver was charged that day with felony willful cruelty to a child with possible injury or death.
    Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2023
  • No woman should be forced to live with the cruelty and fear that Plaintiffs and others have experienced at Foster’s hands.
    Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cruelty.' 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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