cruel

1. (nonstandard) To a great degree; terribly.Examples: ""But I've served 'im ten years, and I'm fond of 'im, and, mind you, 'e's a great man, when all's said an' done, and it's an honor to serve 'im. But 'e does try one cruel at times.""; "'I've never got arthritis, though my old dad had it something cruel.'"

1. (chiefly Australia, New Zealand) To spoil or ruin (one's chance of success)Examples: "What cruelled him was that Imperial Hotel contract."; "He was on the fringes of Test selection last year before a shoulder injury cruelled his chances."; "A shortage of berth space for mega container ships will restrict capacity at Melbourne's port, cruelling Labor's attempts to get maximum value from its privatisation, a leading shipping expert has warned."

2. (Australia, ambitransitive) To violently provoke (a child) in the belief that this will make them more assertive.Examples: "Violence is apparently introduced early by the practice of "cruelling": children even in their first months are physically punished and then encouraged to seek retribution by punishing the punisher."; "2009, Mark Colvin, ABC, "Peter Sutton discusses the politics of suffering in Aboriginal communities," 2 July, 2009, http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2615274.htm […] I was referring to the area where you were talking about this practice of cruelling; the pinching of babies, sometimes so hard that their skin breaks and may go septic."