The one who inflicts cruelty is cruel and the one...

[Tom]

Dear all

The one who inflicts cruelty is cruel and the one upon whom it is inflicted is---------------------. Please see the sentence below.

* His wife always acts as if she were the only ---------
in the world. ( on whom every cruelty is inflicted)

How are the given words for both blanks?

1- Suppressed
2- Down- trodden
3- Victim etc

ps: many books give the word kind as the antonym of cruel but I think it could also be the word I am looking/ asking for.

Tom

[Tom]

Knock knock, anybody there?

[Yankee]

Tom, it depends largely on what kind of "cruelty" you're talking about. Psychological? Physical? Torture? Bruises? Broken bones? Disfiguration? Humiliation? Second-class citizen? Lower pay than men? What???

To be honest, I don't like your example sentence very much at all. The sentence seems to suggest that cruelty to women is an acceptable, everyday occurrence and, for that reason, the man's wife has no reason to complain. So I really didn't feel much like answering your question.

Maybe you can think of a different example and then also describe more clearly exactly what you mean by "cruelty".

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Tom]

OK, Amy

I wil try.

You see every word has its opposite. What word could we possibly use as the opposite of CRUEL? i.e, the one on whom cruelty is inflicted.
Suppose you are writing a novel in which you show two groups. One group throughout the novel inflicts terrible cruelities on the other(physical and mental both), and the other group tolerates it silently because it is totally helpless and weak.Now you name the novel as:

* The cruel and the --------------)
(helpless? victim? suppressed? what?

I hope you understand what I am trying to ask

Tom

[Yankee]

Given your explanation, the best "generic" opposite for the cruel would probably be the victimized.

Other possibilities:
the tortured
the tyrannized
the abused
the suffering
the wronged
the downtrodden
the oppressed
the mistreated
the powerless
the prey
....

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English