cruelty-free

adjective

Of cosmetics and similar products: made without harming animals.

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Meanings

adjectivecruelty-free (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf cosmetics and similar products: made without harming animals.

    It can be particularly hard to tell what is and isn't cruelty-free, as the term isn't regulated; any brand can claim to be so. The only way a company can be totally cruelty-free is when no animal testing has happened at any point during production.

    2020, Madeleine Olivia, Minimal: How to simplify your life and live sustainably, Random House, →ISBN

Origin

From cruelty + -free.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish cruelty-free, sin crueldad
  • cruelty-freeTranslations
  • sin crueldadTranslations
  • libre de crueldadTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

cruelty-free. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cruelty-free

MLA

“cruelty-free.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cruelty-free. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cruelty-free,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cruelty-free.

Source: cruelty-free on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.