cult

noun, often attributive \ ˈkəlt \

Definition of cult

1 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious (see spurious 2); also : its body of adherents

the voodoo cult

a satanic cult

2 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (such as a film or book)

criticizing how the media promotes the cult of celebrity

; 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

the singer's cult of fans

The film has a cult following.

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

the cult of Apollo

4 : formal religious veneration : worship

5 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator

health cults

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cultic

play \ˈkəl-tik\ adjective

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cultish

play \ˈkəl-tish\ adjective

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cultishly

play \ˈkəl-tish-lē\ adverb

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cultishness

play \ˈkəl-tish-nəs\ noun

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cultism

play \ˈkəl-ˌti-zəm\ noun

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cultist

play \ˈkəl-tist\ noun

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cultlike

play \ˈkəlt-ˌlīk\ adjective

See cult defined for English-language learners

See cult defined for kids

Examples of cult in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of cult from the Web

The origin of this practice remains as elusive as the rise of those animal cults.

— jonathon keats, Discover Magazine, "The Animal Mummy Business," 10 Nov. 2017
Whatever sociologists may say about football as a cult, many people alive today are not religious in the way their forebears were.

— The Economist, "Transcendental meditationNeil MacGregor on living with gods," 2 Nov. 2017
The zealotry of the Islamic State in celebrating the unthinkable added to its cult of invincibility.

— victor davis hanson, National Review, "The Islamic State and the Limitations of Cruelty," 26 Oct. 2017
Here are the best products to buy to support the cause, including Clinique’s classic moisturizer and Baby Foot’s cult-worthy foot peels.

— ashley weatherford, The Cut, "9 Beauty Products That Support Breast-Cancer Charities," 18 Oct. 2017
For fans of the latter, AMC's FearFest is like Christmas, your birthday, and yes, Halloween all wrapped up in a nine-day classic horror movie marathon that celebrates beloved franchises and cult favorites from across the decades.

— lilian min, Cosmopolitan, "AMC's FearFest Lineup Is Nine Days of Scarily Amazing Horror Films," 16 Oct. 2017
When Charles Manson coerced his followers into committing one of the most gruesome and infamous crimes of the 20th century, Manson Family member Dianne Lake was just 16 years old, having joined the cult two years earlier, at age 14.

— eliza thompson, Cosmopolitan, "Former Manson Family Member Dianne Lake on What It Was Like to Testify Against the Notorious Cult Leader," 30 Oct. 2017
Robles' drawing of the hippie cult leader appears to stare straight out at the viewer.

— CBS News, "Courtroom sketch artists: Documenting history where cameras aren't allowed," 22 Oct. 2017
The Sun Ra Arkestra, those paragons of extraterrestrial jazz, will perform the cult-classic album Space is the Place (9 p.m. Thursday at FringeArts), with music that slowly morphs into orbit.

— david patrick stearns, Philly.com, "New Philly jazz fest puts edgy music in venues where the listening isn't meant to be easy," 2 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cult.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The overlap of cults and culture

Cult, which shares an origin with culture and cultivate, comes from the Latin cultus, a noun with meanings ranging from "tilling, cultivation" to "training or education" to "adoration." In English, cult has evolved a number of meanings following a fairly logical path. The earliest known uses of the word, recorded in the 17th century, broadly denoted "worship." From here cult came to refer to a specific branch of a religion or the rites and practices of that branch, as in "the cult of Dionysus." By the early 18th century, cult could refer to a non-religious admiration or devotion, such as to a person, idea, or fad ("the cult of success"). Finally, by the 19th century, the word came to be used of "a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious."

Origin and Etymology of cult

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1613

See Words from the same year

cult Synonyms

Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms

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

CULT Defined for English Language Learners

cult

noun

Definition of cult for English Language Learners

: a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous
: a situation in which people admire and care about something or someone very much or too much
: a small group of very devoted supporters or fans