Cru"el*ty (-t?), n.; pl. Cruelties (-tz). [OF. cruelt, F. cruaut, fr. L. crudelitas, fr. crudelis. See Cruel.]

1.

The attribute or quality of being cruel; a disposition to give unnecessary pain or suffering to others; inhumanity; barbarity.

Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty.
Shak.

2.

A cruel and barbarous deed; inhuman treatment; the act of willfully causing unnecessary pain.

Cruelties worthy of the dungeons of the Inquisition.
Macaulay.

 

© Webster 1913.

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