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having a desire to cause physical or mental pain and make somebody suffer 殘酷的；冷酷的；殘忍的；殘暴的 He was known to be a cruel dictator. 他是一個出了名的殘暴獨裁者。 - cruel to somebody/something
I can't stand people who are cruel to animals. 我無法容忍虐待動物的人。 Her eyes were cruel and hard. 她目光冷酷逼人。 Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind (= make somebody suffer because it will be good for them later). 有時候爲了某人好你就得對他狠。 an extremely cruel regime 一個極端殘暴的政權
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- sound
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- to
-
causing physical or mental pain and making somebody suffer 引起痛苦的 a cruel joke/hoax 殘酷的笑話/惡作劇 cruel punishment 殘酷的懲罰 It was a cruel irony that he, being gravely ill, would survive his family. 一個殘酷的諷刺是，他身患重病，卻能在家庭中生存下來。 It would be a cruel twist of fate if he escaped only to starve to death once outside. 如果他逃到外面一次就餓死了，那將是命運的殘酷轉折。 Her father's death was a cruel blow. 父親去世對她是一大打擊。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- sound
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- to
Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from Latin crudelis, related to crudus ‘raw, rough’.
Idioms
cruel and unusual punishment
a category of very severe punishment that is banned under US law 殘忍： 美國法律禁止的一種非常嚴厲的懲罰This important case confronts the issue of what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. 這一重要案件面臨着什麽是殘忍和不尋常的懲罰的問題。 Detainees are subjected to malnutrition, forced labor, and to other cruel and unusual punishments. 被拘留者遭受營養不良、強迫勞動和其他殘忍和不尋常的懲罰。