1
[ noun ] the trait of extreme cruelty

Used in print

(John Michael Ray, "Rhode Island's Reactions...)

Resolved that his wrongs and bereavements in Kansas , occasioned by the violence and brutality of those who were intent_on the propagation of slavery in that territory , call_for a charitable judgment upon his recent efforts in Virginia to undermine the despotism from which he had suffered , and commend his family to the special sympathy and aid of all who pity suffering and reverence justice .

Related terms

cruelty

2
[ noun ] a brutal barbarous savage act

Used in print

(J. H. Hexter, "Thomas More: On the Margins...)

Secondly , to find a learned diversion and a pleasing joke in More 's account of the stupid brutalities of early sixteenth century wars , of the anguish of the poor and dispossessed , of the insolence and cruelty of the rich and powerful requires a callousness toward suffering and sin that would be surprising in a moral imbecile and most surprising in More himself .

Related terms

atrocity savage

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