cruelly
PronouncedKROO-lee
adverbIn a way that deliberately causes pain or suffering to someone.
adverbIn a way that is very harsh or severe.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: CR Blend
Sound“kr”·/kr/
C and R blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'cry' and 'cross'.
The blend CR combines /k/ and /r/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: UE Vowel Team (“oo”)
Sound“oo”·/uː/
UE at the end of a word usually says 'oo', like in 'blue' and 'true'.
After L, R, S, or J, UE makes the pure “oo” sound — no Y-glide. Examples: blue, clue, true, glue. Companion rule vowel_team_ue_yoo handles the “yoo” variant after other consonants (rescue, cue, value).
Tip
UE after L, R, S, J — says oo!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter L
Sound“l”·/l/
The letter L makes the /l/ sound, like in 'lamp', 'leg', and 'lip'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
L is a voiced lateral approximant — the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth while air flows around the sides. Double L (ll) makes the same /l/ sound.
Tip
L is for lamp — light it up with /l/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -LY
Sound“lee”·/li/
Adding -LY to a word usually makes it describe HOW something is done, like 'slowly' and 'quickly'.
The suffix -ly usually turns an adjective into an adverb. 'Slow' → 'slowly' means 'in a slow way'.
Examples
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