*cru·el/`kruəl; ˈkruːəl/ adj 1 deliberately making people or animals feel pain or sadness 残忍的，残酷的: + to Children can be very cruel to each other. 孩子们会对彼此十分残酷。 2 a cruel event causes a lot of sadness 引起痛苦的: Her husband's death was a cruel blow. 她丈夫的死对她是无情的打击。