Having a nature or disposition that is fundamentally cruel and lacking compassion.
Compound of 'cruel' (from Latin 'crudelis') and 'hearted' (from Old English 'heorte'), combining to suggest someone whose heart itself is cruel in nature.
This poetic compound shows how English speakers have long believed the 'heart' is the seat of emotion and morality—so a 'cruelhearted' person was considered to have their moral center corrupted.
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