Bait truly displayed cruelty (9)
I believe the answer is:
brutality
'cruelty' is the definition.
(I know that brutality is a type of cruelty)
'bait truly displayed' is the wordplay.
'displayed' indicates an anagram (letters displayed in another way).
'bait'+'truly'='baittruly'
'baittruly' is an anagram of 'BRUTALITY'.
(Other definitions for brutality that I've seen before include "Savagery" , "Ruthlessness" .)