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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."
Examples of cult in a Sentence
Benjamin Voyer, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
Simone is the dutiful personal assistant for an ultra-wealthy socialite named Michaela (Julianne Moore), whom Devon thinks might also be a murderous cult leader.
—William Earl, Variety, 22 May 2025
Jews tend to teach their children to be wary of fascism from a very young age, with its nationalist bombast, its cult of masculinity, its contempt for pluralism and its relentless, bludgeoning lies.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 21 May 2025
Now, after 56 years out of print, Motor-Cycle has a chance to be rescued from obscurity by a deluxe reissue from High Moon Records, the boutique label known for reissuing cult favorites like Gene Clark and Love’s Arthur Lee.
—Jeff Gage, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cult
Cite this Entry
“Cult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cult. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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