Ar·taud (är-t??), Antonin 1896-1948. French surrealist poet and playwright who advocated a deliberately shocking and confrontational style of drama he called “Theatre of Cruelty.”American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.