# be cruel to be kind

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/be-cruel-to-be-kind
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To act cruelly in order to achieve a positive outcome in the future.

## Examples

- I must be cruel to be kind and stop your bad habit.
- The doctor had to be cruel to be kind by forcing the patient to walk immediately after the surgery.
- By refusing to provide the funding that had enabled his son's recklessness, the father was being cruel to be kind, hoping to finally teach him the value of responsibility.

## Origin

From William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4: "I must be cruel, only to be kind: / Thus bad begins and worse remains behind."

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.