culturati

plural noun

cul·​tur·​a·​ti ˌkəl-chə-ˈrä-(ˌ)tē How to pronounce culturati (audio)
: people intensely interested in cultural affairs

Examples of culturati in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Brooke is one of the culturati, but their busy social life, centered on a bowling team and trivia night, appears warm and teeming. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2023 But Schloss, who died in Rome in 2011, once lived and worked in the center of the center of midcentury New York’s most illustrious culturati. Jamie Hood, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2021 Toward the beginning of the last century—that is, when this magazine was a mere 75 or 80 years old—a handful of cutting-edge culturati would lose their famous cool when a certain topic came up in conversation. Daniel Mendelsohn, Town & Country, 20 Sep. 2021 On Monday night, New York’s literati and culturati gathered to celebrate the 2019 honorees at the New York Public Library’s Library Lions gala. Vogue, 6 Nov. 2019 Eclectically dressed culturati dropped in from all corners of the world for the occasion, dashing all over the city for a slew of VIP viewings, satellite fairs, pop up events, and in the case of Four Season's Thursday night soirée, a pop down. Jaimie Potters, Town & Country, 10 Oct. 2019 Young, handsome and gay, he was quickly taken up by New York’s culturati, including Lincoln Kirstein, Alfred H. Barr Jr. and Philip Johnson. Julie V. Iovine, WSJ, 4 July 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'culturati.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

culture entry 1 + -ati (as in literati)

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of culturati was in 1892

Dictionary Entries Near culturati

Cite this Entry

“Culturati.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culturati. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

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