cruel
Portuguese, adjective/kɾuˈɛw/
cruel is spelled C-R-U-E-L (5 letters) and appears 14 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 5,611th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Cruel is a Portuguese feminine adjective meaning “cruel (that intentionally causes or revels in pain and suffering)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “que tem prazer em fazer mal”.
What does cruel mean in English?
adjective
- 1
femininemasculinecruel (that intentionally causes or revels in pain and suffering)
O algoz era conhecido por ser extremamente cruel.
- 2
femininemasculinecruel; harsh; severe
Ele recebeu uma cruel mas merecida sentença.
- 3
femininemasculinedistressful
Que dúvida cruel!
- 4
femininemasculinebloody; violent
Foi uma batalha cruel.
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. que tem prazer em fazer mal 2. bárbaro; severo; pungente; doloroso; sanguinário; atroz; dilacerante; perverso
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of cruel
- cruéis plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce cruel?
- Brazil /kɾuˈɛw/
- Brazil [kɾuˈɛʊ̯]
- Brazil /ˈkɾwɛw/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to cruel
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is cruel in Portuguese?
cruel appears 14 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).