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Any thing or person of unnatural or excessive ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty.

To mutilate, spoil, or deform, as if with malice or cruelty; to mangle; as, to murder the king's English.

A soldier or a subordinate civil officer who executes cruel orders of a superior without protest or pity; -- sometimes applied to bailiffs, constables, etc. Thackeray. With unabated ardor the vindictive man of law and his myrmidons pressed forward. W. H. Ainsworth.

A Roman emperor notorius for debauchery and barbarous cruelty; hence, any profligate and cruel ruler or merciless tyrant. -- Ne*ro"ni*an, a.

or hideous giant of fairy tales, who lived on human beings; hence, any frightful giant; a cruel monster. His schoolroom must have resembled an ogre's den. Maccaulay.

To impose excessive burdens upon; to overload; hence, to treat with unjust rigor or with cruelty. Wyclif. For thee, oppressèd king, am I cast down. Shak. Behold the kings of the earth; how they oppress Thy chosen ! Milton.

That which oppresses; a hardship or injustice; cruelty; severity; tyranny. "The multitude of oppressions." Job xxxv. 9.

A figure in which an epithet of a contrary signification is added to a word; e. g., cruel kindness; laborious idleness.

To pursue in a manner to injure, grieve, or afflict; to beset with cruelty or malignity; to harass; especially, to afflict, harass, punish, or put to death, for adherence to a particular religious creed or mode of worship. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. M…

perseverance, mercy, lowliness." Shak. Whose constant perseverance overcame Whate'er his cruel malice could invent. Milton.

an excuse; an apology. "Necessity, the tyrant's plea." Milton. No plea must serve; 't is cruelty to spare. Denham.

To strike repeatedly with some heavy instrument; to beat. With cruel blows she pounds her blubbered cheeks. Dryden.

d into rags. Milton. Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty. Fuller.

To become less severe or intense; to become less hard, harsh, cruel, or the like; to soften in temper; to become more mild and tender; to feel compassion. Can you . . . behold My sighs and tears, and will not once relent Shak.

Being without remorse; having no pity; hence, destitute of sensibility; cruel; insensible to distress; merciless. "Remorseless adversaries." South. "With remorseless cruelty." Milton.

lot to betray thy foes. Shak. The indulgence of revenge tends to make men more savage and cruel. Kames.

To turn back, or to the contrary; to reverse. Till happy chance revert the cruel scence. Prior. The tumbling stream . . . Reverted, plays in undulating flow. Thomson.

, to feel nausea; -- with at; as, the stomach revolts at such food; his nature revolts at cruelty.

sing abhorrence mixed with disgust; exciting extreme repugnance; loathsome; as, revolting cruelty. -- Re*volt"ing*ly, adv.

of opinion or temper; rugged sternness; hardness; relentless severity; hard-heartedness; cruelty. All his rigor is turned to grief and pity. Denham. If I shall be condemn'd Upon surmises, . . . I tell you 'T is rigor and not law. Shak.