What's the difference between cruel and rude?

Cruel


Definition:

  • (n.) See Crewel.
  • (a.) Disposed to give pain to others; willing or pleased to hurt, torment, or afflict; destitute of sympathetic kindness and pity; savage; inhuman; hard-hearted; merciless.
  • (a.) Causing, or fitted to cause, pain, grief, or misery.
  • (a.) Attended with cruetly; painful; harsh.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) China’s new law also restricts the right of media to report on details of terror attacks, including a provision that media and social media cannot report on details of terror activities that might lead to imitation, nor show scenes that are “cruel and inhuman”.
  • (2) Through small and large acts of deprivation and destruction we follow the process: the removal of hope, of dignity, of luxury, of necessity, of self; the reduction of a man to a hoarder of grey slabs of bread and the scrapings of a soup bowl (wonderfully told all this, with a novelist's gift for detail and sometimes very nearly comic surprise), to the confinement of a narrow bed – in which there is "not even any room to be afraid" – with a stranger who doesn't speak your language, to the cruel illogicality of hating a fellow victim of oppression more than you hate the oppressor himself – one torment following another, and even the bleak comfort of thinking you might have touched rock bottom denied you as, when the most immediate cause of a particular stress comes to an end, "you are grievously amazed to see that another one lies behind; and in reality a whole series of others".
  • (3) It goes on: "In a reality of ongoing occupation, of solid cynicism and meanness, each and every one of us bears the moral obligation to try to relieve the suffering, do something to bend back the occupation's giant, cruel hand."
  • (4) At one point, Walters speculates that “she looks the same weight as the Duchess – about 8st”; later, he disingenuously asks her to discuss “the cruel comments about being a ‘childless spinster’”, neither telling readers who made those “cruel comments” in the first place, or where.
  • (5) More here: UK regulator urges banks to speed up swaps mis-selling compensation 8.40am GMT More reaction to the decision to send riot police to evict people from the offices of Greece's former state broadcaster this morning , starting with journalist Nick Malkoutzis: Nick Malkoutzis (@NickMalkoutzis) 5 mths after flicking switch on public broadcaster ERT, gov't tries to settle issue by sending riot police to remove remaining staff #Greece November 7, 2013 Nick Malkoutzis (@NickMalkoutzis) While #ERT will be off air for good after police intervention, the stain of how its closure has been handled won't wash away easily #Greece November 7, 2013 Lady Mondegreen (@amaenad) Like a mean stupid dog appeasing a cruel master, the Greek government wants to lay ERT's limp body at the troika's feet.
  • (6) The government confirmed on Tuesday that the second year of the cull had begun, sparking outrage from animal rights activists, campaigners and opposition politicians who claim it is cruel and ineffective.
  • (7) Her friends have been arrested and subjected to what they describe as cruel and inhumane treatment .
  • (8) The jury decided unanimously Thursday that the Colorado attack was cruel enough to justify the death penalty .
  • (9) One of its board members is retired Major General Andrew James “Jim” Molan, co-architect of Tony Abbott’s “Operation Sovereign Borders,” the draconian program relying on the remote island detention centres condemned as cruel and inhumane by multiple respected human rights organisations.
  • (10) MOAB map “Isis were so cruel to us,” said Ahmad.
  • (11) Philip French championed Boyle's career from the outset, describing his debut feature film, Shallow Grave , as "a good piece of storytelling... Hitchcock would have admired its ruthlessness and cruel humour."
  • (12) S an Francisco is now a cruel place and a divided one.
  • (13) In a rather florid letter with classical, literary and historical references, he told her: "You, I already know from happy experience, will not be cruel to my tender flame … As I think of you I shall learn to love you more.
  • (14) Of course the timing was cruel, aimed at throwing the prime minister off balance just before what turned out to be a fairly successful Commons question time.
  • (15) He could be very charming, he could be very cruel, but he mattered and he put something together that was extraordinary."
  • (16) One of the first demands is that the bombardments by the regime and its [Russian] backers must end.” Merkel condemned the air raids on Syria’s second city as “inhumane and cruel”.
  • (17) While Liverpool seemed stretched by cruel successive away fixtures, Chelsea arguably mustered some of their finest attacking football of the campaign through that ferocious opening period.
  • (18) If you follow Twitter regularly, it's easy to believe that many of our fellow citizens are cruel, mean, misogynist and foul-mouthed.
  • (19) We perceive the circumstances of our youth as normal and unexceptional, however sparse or cruel they may be.
  • (20) "It's outrageous and cruel that people are taken off to detention and the families hear nothing until the body shows up with signs of abuse," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Rude


Definition:

  • (superl.) Characterized by roughness; umpolished; raw; lacking delicacy or refinement; coarse.
  • (superl.) Unformed by taste or skill; not nicely finished; not smoothed or polished; -- said especially of material things; as, rude workmanship.
  • (superl.) Of untaught manners; unpolished; of low rank; uncivil; clownish; ignorant; raw; unskillful; -- said of persons, or of conduct, skill, and the like.
  • (superl.) Violent; tumultuous; boisterous; inclement; harsh; severe; -- said of the weather, of storms, and the like; as, the rude winter.
  • (superl.) Barbarous; fierce; bloody; impetuous; -- said of war, conflict, and the like; as, the rude shock of armies.
  • (superl.) Not finished or complete; inelegant; lacking chasteness or elegance; not in good taste; unsatisfactory in mode of treatment; -- said of literature, language, style, and the like.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) You need a little moleskine, to write rude ideas... Mel No, I’ve just started recycling them.
  • (2) I categorically never said that ‘Britain has so many paedophiles because it has so many Asian men’.” She added that it was “totally untrue” that she had threatened to “take this inquiry down with me”, and absolutely rejected being rude and abusive to junior staff.
  • (3) For a while yesterday, Hazel Blears's selfishly-timed resignation with her rude "rock the boat" brooch send shudders of revulsion through some in the party.
  • (4) Like low blood pressure after a heart attack, then, cheap oil should arguably be regarded not as a sign of rude health, but rather as a consequence of malaise.
  • (5) This country has had a free press for the last 300 years, that has been irreverent and rude as my website is and holding public officials to account.
  • (6) We had some memorable encounters and he was very rude to me.
  • (7) He privately told the privy counsellors' committee of inquiry set up to review the events leading up to the invasion: "If I may be very frank and rather rude, you had to keep the ball in the air with the Argentines.
  • (8) There will be dialogue and discussions about what works, rather than rude surprises that backfire.
  • (9) As Google states, it is definitely in the company’s best interest to get its first smartglass customers to behave, as “breaking the rules or being rude will not get businesses excited about Glass and will ruin it for other Explorers”.
  • (10) I think, in all honestly, if I could be Bradley Whitford I would be very, very happy.” He becomes almost drawlingly dreamy, rolling his “r”s as he leans against the warm oolite cliffs of this Jurassic Coast, until rudely interrupted by me, asking whether there’s talk of a Broadchurch 3 .
  • (11) If someone was rude to you, you were rude back to them.
  • (12) Brexiters face rude awakening on immigration, says ex-minister Read more The problem is, there is nothing on the horizon to suggest that achieving any significant reduction in immigration is achievable or even desirable.
  • (13) He repeatedly argued that his south London upbringing meant he was rude to people who were rude to him and said Jones needed to “get over it”, although he said that he was unaware of his colleague’s history of illness.
  • (14) When he sees what he's inherited, he may get a rude awakening.
  • (15) Having reassured ourselves that we’re justified in “holding them to account” and “having robust debates” and “speaking truth to power”, we’re now just flat-out rude to their faces?
  • (16) But the fact that there is a serious disagreement between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom does not mean that you should then be discourteous or rude."
  • (17) I said to them afterwards: ‘If you’re not on it 100% in this league, you’ll get a rude awakening.’’” Albion must be sick of the sight of QPR and Charlie Austin in particular.
  • (18) I can think of hordes of politicians who look worse and "weirder", with wet little pouty-mouths, strange shiny skin, mad glaring eyes, deathly pale demeanour, blank gaze and an unhealthy quantity of fat (I can't name them, because it's rude to make personal remarks), and I don't hear anyone calling them "weird", or mocking their looks, except for the odd bold cartoonist, but when it comes to Miliband , it's be-as-rude-as-you-like time.
  • (19) She said something rude, and I picked up her arm and I bit it!
  • (20) So instead of asking for anything on her birthday, she gives her friends presents, and she regularly sticks bullies and rude policemen in trees.