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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
Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Eventually, the assorted good and bad actors converge on the premises of Mandy’s father, who is, of all things, a psychopathic religious cult leader.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
Karen Gillan has joined the sword-swinging cast of Highlander, Amazon MGM’s remake of the 1980s cult classic.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2025
Dutch Bros Coffee, a java chain with something of a cult following, wants to lock down its first suburban Chicago location in Naperville.
—Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 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 30 Aug. 2025.
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