cult

cult

noun, often attributive \ˈkəlt\

Definition of CULT

1

: formal religious veneration : worship

2

: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents

3

: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents

4

: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults>

5

a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad

b : the object of such devotion

c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

— cul·tic \ˈkəl-tik\ adjective

— cult·ish \-tish\ adjective

— cult·ish·ly \-lē\ adverb

— cult·ish·ness \-nəs\ noun

— cult·ism \ˈkəl-ˌti-zəm\ noun

— cult·ist \ˈkəl-tist\ noun

— cult·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

Examples of CULT

1. She has developed a cult following.
2. <long after it had gone off the air, the TV series continued to have a huge cult>

Origin of CULT

French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, adoration, from colere to cultivate — more at wheel

First Known Use: 1617

Related to CULT

Synonyms

audience, followership, following

Related Words

discipleship; fandom

Near Antonyms

agnosticism, know-nothingism; atheism, godlessness, nonbelief, secularism, unbelief

Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms

Zen, antinomian, avatar, gnosticism, illuminati, ineffable, karma, koan, mantra

cult

abbreviation    (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of CULT

culture

cult

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Collective veneration or worship (e.g., the cult of the saints—meaning collective veneration of the saints—in Roman Catholicism). In the West, the term has come to be used for groups that are perceived to have deviated from normative religions in belief and practice. They typically have a charismatic leader and attract followers who are in some way disenfranchised from the mainstream of society. Cults as thus defined are often viewed as foreign or dangerous.