How to Use cruelty in a Sentence

cruelty

noun
  • The cruelty of children can be surprising.
  • They protested against cruelty to animals.
  • That’s one of the great cruelties of the world.
    — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
  • This wasn’t done out of cruelty.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
  • All of the items on this site are clean, gluten-free, and cruelty-free.
    — Jennifer Aldrich, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 June 2021
  • The movie is a study of how avoidance is its own form of cruelty.
    — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
  • There’s cruelty in this praise.
    — Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
  • There were some ironies, not to say cruelties, to this mission.
    — Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
  • That was the start of us talking about male rage, our own anger, our own cruelty.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 22 Mar. 2025
  • The cruelty, after all, is the point.
    — Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
  • These cruelty-free shadows are perfect to wear for work or for a night out.
    — Jennifer Ford, Forbes, 17 June 2021
  • That’s not to say there isn’t cruelty or a cost involved in using fur.
    — Tiffany Ap, Quartz, 27 Jan. 2022
  • God never sanctions cruelty; love that harms is not love at all.
    — Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The game would go the distance, to the sweet cruelty of penalties.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2022
  • Concepts like art, cruelty and freedom are a lot to wrap one’s head around.
    — Jessica Ferri, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2021
  • Sooner or later, this unchecked cruelty will be felt by us all.
    — U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Oct. 2025
  • So the cruelty of the tabloids and the cost on real people’s lives, on the one hand.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 27 Mar. 2026
  • There is so much in this world that is out of our control, so much of cruelty and heartbreak.
    — Audrey Goldberg Ruoff, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
  • He was found not guilty of the animal cruelty charge.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026
  • Both have been charged with one count of first-degree cruelty to children, records show.
    — Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Chicagoans are not asking for cruelty.
    — Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
  • The cruelty is not the point in this accounting.
    — Andrea Williams, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Such cruelty reveals the true nature of this regime.
    — Kim Aris, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
  • And it isn’t being wielded just for cruelty’s sake.
    — Literary Hub, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Irvin has been charged with six counts of animal cruelty and two counts of burglary.
    — Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2023
  • He was booked on a charge of cruelty to animals and released, jail records show.
    — Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2025
  • For some, cruelty and bullying have been seen as strengths and signs of success.
    — Annie Lane, cleveland, 27 Nov. 2022
  • Both Spencer and Mills were charged with cruelty to children.
    — Washington Post, 19 July 2021
  • Irvin faces six charges of animal cruelty and two charges of burglary.
    — Dallas News, 8 Feb. 2023
  • He is now charged with two counts of murder and a single count of animal cruelty.
    — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 28 May 2026

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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