cult

noun, often attributive \ ˈkəlt \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: cult in a Sentence

Editor's Note: The overlap of cults and culture

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

Despite the wild, experimental nature of the series, American anime fans thoroughly embraced FLCL since its debut on Adult Swim in 2003, turning it into a cult hit with influences on familiar shows like Teen Titans and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

— stephen scaife, The Verge, "Cult favorite anime FLCL is back with new episodes — but 15 years later, the original still shines," 2 June 2018
The Crow became a cult hit, in part because Lee was killed in a tragic on-set accident during production.

— aaron couch, The Hollywood Reporter, "Jason Momoa Exits 'The Crow' Reboot," 31 May 2018
The tactic has its roots in the controversial Synanon organization, which has been called a cult.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "“Like slavery”: Rehab patients forced into unpaid labor to cover “treatment”," 22 May 2018
Law enforcement officials later denounced the program as a cult.

— amy julia harris and shoshana walter, charlotteobserver, "Drug users got exploited. Disabled patients got hurt. One woman benefited from it all. | Charlotte Observer," 21 May 2018
Yes, Pence’s brown-nosing of Trump is cringeworthy to those not initiated in the cult.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Actually, Pence’s Toadying Is His Best Shot at Becoming President," 17 May 2018
The movie, whose budget Mr. Ferrante estimates at $1 million, became a cult hit.

— ellen gamerman, WSJ, "It Wouldn’t Be Summer Without a Shark Movie," 10 May 2018
According to journalist Gary Weiss, the author of Ayn Rand Nation: The Hidden Struggle for America’s Soul, all of these elements made the Collective a cult.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The Literary Salon That Made Ayn Rand Famous," 8 May 2018
Patagonia developed a cult following and expanded its offerings.

— author: david gelles, Anchorage Daily News, "Patagonia v. Trump: Inside a battle over public lands," 6 May 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 4

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