Cru"el*ty (-t?), n.; pl. Cruelties (-tz). [OF. cruelt, F. cruaut, fr. L. crudelitas, fr. crudelis. See Cruel.]
1.
The attribute or quality of being cruel; a disposition to give unnecessary pain or suffering to others; inhumanity; barbarity.
Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty.
Shak.
2.
A cruel and barbarous deed; inhuman treatment; the act of willfully causing unnecessary pain.
Cruelties worthy of the dungeons of the Inquisition.
Macaulay.
© Webster 1913.