Cruel vs. Mean: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Cruel means causing pain or suffering intentionally, while mean refers to being unkind or spiteful.
Key Differences
Cruelty involves deliberate infliction of pain or suffering, often with a lack of empathy. Meanness, while it can cause hurt, is more about unkindness or spitefulness, often in words or minor actions.
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Nov 22, 2023
Cruel behavior often has a severe, lasting impact, possibly causing physical or deep emotional harm. Mean behavior, although hurtful, is generally less severe and can involve petty acts or harsh words.
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Nov 22, 2023
The intent behind cruelty is usually to cause significant harm or distress. In contrast, meanness might stem from a moment of spite, rudeness, or insensitivity, without a deep intent to cause serious harm.
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Nov 22, 2023
Cruel actions are often associated with a lack of remorse or consideration for the suffering caused. Meanness, while unpleasant, does not necessarily carry the same level of malice or indifference to suffering.
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Nov 22, 2023
Cruelty is universally condemned and often considered morally reprehensible. Meanness, though also negative, is seen as a lesser degree of hurtful behavior.
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Nov 22, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Intention
Deliberate infliction of pain or suffering
Unkind or spiteful behavior
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Impact
Severe, possibly causing lasting harm
Generally less severe, more about words or petty actions
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Nov 22, 2023
Intent
To cause significant harm or distress
Often a moment of spite or rudeness
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Moral Judgment
Universally condemned, morally reprehensible
Negative but seen as a lesser degree of harm
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Nov 22, 2023
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Cruel and Mean Definitions
Cruel
Deliberately inflicting physical or emotional harm.
The cruel punishment was widely criticized.
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Nov 22, 2023
Mean
Unkind or spiteful in behavior or speech.
That was a mean thing to say to her.
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Nov 22, 2023
Cruel
Enjoying others' suffering or pain.
It was cruel of him to laugh at their misfortune.
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Nov 22, 2023
Mean
Small-minded or petty in attitude.
His mean refusal to help showed his character.
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Nov 22, 2023
Cruel
Causing pain or distress by design.
The cruel trap was set intentionally.
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Nov 22, 2023
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Mean
To be used to convey; denote
"'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things'" (Lewis Carroll).
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
Showing no concern for the pain caused to others.
Her cruel remarks hurt everyone's feelings.
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Nov 22, 2023
Mean
To act as a symbol of; signify or represent
In this poem, the budding flower means youth.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
To intend to convey or indicate
"No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous" (Henry Adams).
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
Causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or distress
Cruel treatment.
A cruel remark.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
To have as a purpose or an intention; intend
I meant to go running this morning, but I overslept.
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
Intentionally causing or reveling in pain and suffering; merciless, heartless.
The supervisor was very cruel to Josh, as he would always give Josh the hardest, most degrading work he could find.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
To design, intend, or destine for a certain purpose or end
A building that was meant for storage.
A student who was meant to be a scientist.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
To have the importance or value of
The opinions of the critics meant nothing to him. She meant so much to me.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
To have intentions of a specified kind; be disposed
They mean well but lack tact.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Lacking in kindness; unkind
The teacher was not being mean in asking you to be quiet.
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
To violently provoke (a child) in the belief that this will make them more assertive.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Cruel, spiteful, or malicious
A mean boy who liked to make fun of others.
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
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.
Behold a people cometh from the north country; . . . they are cruel and have no mercy.
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
Causing, or fitted to cause, pain, grief, or misery.
Cruel wars, wasting the earth.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath for it was cruel.
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
Attended with cruetly; painful; harsh.
You have seen cruel proof of this man's strength.
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering;
A barbarous crime
Brutal beatings
Cruel tortures
Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks
A savage slap
Vicious kicks
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
(of weapons or instruments) causing suffering and pain;
Brutal instruments of torture
Cruel weapons of war
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Something having a position, quality, or condition midway between extremes; a medium.
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Oct 19, 2023
Cruel
Used of circumstances (especially weather) that cause suffering;
Brutal weather
Northern winters can be cruel
A cruel world
A harsh climate
A rigorous climate
Unkind winters
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
A number that typifies a set of numbers, such as a geometric mean or an arithmetic mean.
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Cruel
Willfully causing pain or suffering to others.
His cruel treatment of animals was disturbing.
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Nov 22, 2023
Mean
Means (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A method, a course of action, or an instrument by which an act can be accomplished or an end achieved.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(transitive) To intend, to plan (to do); to have as one's intention.
I didn't mean to knock your tooth out.
I mean to go to Baddeck this summer.
I meant to take the car in for a smog check, but it slipped my mind.
The authors meant a challenge to the status quo.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(intransitive) To have as intentions of a given kind.
Don't be angry; she meant well.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
To intend (something) for a given purpose or fate; to predestine.
Actually this desk was meant for the subeditor.
Man was not meant to question such things.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(transitive) To intend an ensuing comment or statement as an explanation.[https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/i_mean%20I%20mean]
Your reasoning seems needlessly abstruse, complex, and verbose for me. I mean, could you dumb it down for my sake?
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(transitive) To convey (a given sense); to signify, or indicate (an object or idea).
The sky is red this morning—does that mean we're in for a storm?
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(transitive) Of a word, symbol etc: to have reference to, to signify.
What does this hieroglyph mean?
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(transitive) Of a person (or animal etc): to intend to express, to imply, to hint at, to allude.
I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean.
He is a little different, if you know what I mean.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(transitive) To have conviction in (something said or expressed); to be sincere in (what one says).
Does she really mean what she said to him last night?
Say what you mean and mean what you say.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(transitive) To cause or produce (a given result); to bring about (a given result).
One faltering step means certain death.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(usually with to) To be of some level of importance.
That little dog meant everything to me.
Formality and titles mean nothing in their circle.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Of a common or low origin, grade, or quality; common; humble.
A man of mean parentage
A mean abode
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Low in quality or degree; inferior; poor; shabby.
A mean appearance
A mean dress
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Without dignity of mind; destitute of honour; low-minded; spiritless; base.
A mean motive
It was mean of you to steal that little girl's piggy bank.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Of little value or worth; worthy of little or no regard; contemptible; despicable.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Ungenerous; stingy; tight-fisted.
He's so mean. I've never seen him spend so much as five pounds on presents for his children.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Intending to cause harm, successfully or otherwise; bearing ill will towards another.
Watch out for her, she's mean. I said good morning to her, and she punched me in the nose.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Powerful; fierce; strong.
It must have been a mean typhoon that levelled this town.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(colloquial) Accomplished with great skill; deft; hard to compete with.
Your mother can roll a mean cigarette.
He hits a mean backhand.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Having the mean (see noun below) as its value; average.
The mean family has 2.4 children.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Something which is intermediate or in the middle; an intermediate value or range of values; a medium.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
The middle part of three-part polyphonic music; now specifically, the alto part in polyphonic music; an alto instrument.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(statistics) The average of a set of values, calculated by summing them together and dividing by the number of terms; the arithmetic mean.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(mathematics) Any function of multiple variables that satisfies certain properties and yields a number representative of its arguments; or, the number so yielded; a measure of central tendency.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
(mathematics) Either of the two numbers in the middle of a conventionally presented proportion, as 2 and 3 in 1:2=3:6.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
To have in the mind, as a purpose, intention, etc.; to intend; to purpose; to design; as, what do you mean to do?
What mean ye by this service ?
Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.
I am not a SpaniardTo say that it is yours and not to mean it.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
To signify; to indicate; to import; to denote.
What mean these seven ewe lambs ?
Go ye, and learn what that meaneth.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Destitute of distinction or eminence; common; low; vulgar; humble.
The mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Wanting dignity of mind; low-minded; base; destitute of honor; spiritless; as, a mean motive.
Can you imagine I so mean could prove,To save my life by changing of my love ?
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Of little value or account; worthy of little or no regard; contemptible; despicable.
The Roman legions and great Cæsar foundOur fathers no mean foes.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Occupying a middle position; middle; being about midway between extremes.
Being of middle age and a mean stature.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Intermediate in excellence of any kind.
According to the fittest style of lofty, mean, or lowly.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Average; having an intermediate value between two extremes, or between the several successive values of a variable quantity during one cycle of variation; as, mean distance; mean motion; mean solar day.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
That which is mean, or intermediate, between two extremes of place, time, or number; the middle point or place; middle rate or degree; mediocrity; medium; absence of extremes or excess; moderation; measure.
But to speak in a mean, the virtue of prosperity is temperance; the virtue of adversity is fortitude.
There is a mean in all things.
The extremes we have mentioned, between which the wellinstracted Christian holds the mean, are correlatives.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
A quantity having an intermediate value between several others, from which it is derived, and of which it expresses the resultant value; usually, unless otherwise specified, it is the simple average, formed by adding the quantities together and dividing by their number, which is called an arithmetical mean. A geometrical mean is the nth root of the product of the n quantities being averaged.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
That through which, or by the help of which, an end is attained; something tending to an object desired; intermediate agency or measure; necessary condition or coagent; instrument.
Their virtuous conversation was a mean to work the conversion of the heathen to Christ.
You may be able, by this mean, to review your own scientific acquirements.
Philosophical doubt is not an end, but a mean.
By this means he had them more at vantage.
What other means is left unto us.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Resources; property, revenue, or the like, considered as the condition of easy livelihood, or an instrumentality at command for effecting any purpose; disposable force or substance.
Your means are very slender, and your waste is great.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
A part, whether alto or tenor, intermediate between the soprano and base; a middle part.
The mean is drowned with your unruly base.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
A mediator; a go-between.
He wooeth her by means and by brokage.
If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead.
The wine on this side of the lake is by no means so good as that on the other.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
An average of n numbers computed by adding some function of the numbers and dividing by some function of n
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Mean or intend to express or convey;
You never understand what I mean!
What do his words intend?
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Have as a logical consequence;
The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Denote or connote;
`maison' means `house' in French
An example sentence would show what this word means
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Have in mind as a purpose;
I mean no harm
I only meant to help you
She didn't think to harm me
We thought to return early that night
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Have a specified degree of importance;
My ex-husband means nothing to me
Happiness means everything
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Intend to refer to;
I'm thinking of good food when I talk about France
Yes, I meant you when I complained about people who gossip!
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Destine or designate for a certain purpose;
These flowers were meant for you
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value;
The average income in New England is below that of the nation
Of average height for his age
The mean annual rainfall
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality;
That liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble
Taking a mean advantage
Chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort
Something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Marked by poverty befitting a beggar;
A beggarly existence in the slums
A mean hut
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Used of persons or behavior; characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity;
A mean person
He left a miserly tip
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Oct 19, 2023
Mean
Intentionally unkind or hurtful.
She was being mean when she ignored his greeting.
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Nov 22, 2023
Mean
Showing a lack of generosity or consideration.
It's mean to not share your snacks.
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Nov 22, 2023
Mean
Harsh or unkind in expression or action.
His mean comments made her cry.
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Nov 22, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
Is cruelty a personality trait?
It can be, but it's often a behavior rather than a trait.
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Nov 22, 2023
Can cruel acts be legal?
They can be, but often they are morally or legally condemned.
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Nov 22, 2023
Can mean behavior be a reaction?
Yes, it can be a response to anger or frustration.
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Nov 22, 2023
Is meanness always serious?
Not always, it can range from petty to quite hurtful.
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Nov 22, 2023
Can animals be cruel?
Cruelty is generally a human attribute, linked to intent.
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Nov 22, 2023
Can someone be unintentionally mean?
Yes, through thoughtlessness or insensitivity.
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Nov 22, 2023
Do mean people realize their behavior?
Not always; they may be unaware of the impact.
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Nov 22, 2023
Can one be mean to themselves?
Yes, through negative self-talk or self-sabotage.
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Nov 22, 2023
Is mean behavior tolerated socially?
It's generally frowned upon but can be context-dependent.
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Nov 22, 2023
Can mean behavior be corrected?
Yes, with awareness and a change in attitude.
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Nov 22, 2023
Do mean people lack empathy?
Not necessarily, but they may show less consideration.
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Nov 22, 2023
Are children capable of cruelty?
Yes, though they may not fully understand the impact.
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Nov 22, 2023
Is being mean a defense mechanism?
Sometimes, it can be a response to fear or insecurity.
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Nov 22, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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