cultist

noun

cult·​ist ˈkəl-tist 

plural cultists

: a member of a cult: such as

a

: a devotee or member of a religious cult

In 1826 … Shakers were persecuted as cultists distinguished by their use of dance in worship … and their belief in their founder, Mother Ann, as equal to Jesus.

—Robert Minkoff

b

: one who exhibits great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, etc.

… at a time when the Kinks don't even have an American record deal, it's heartening for aging Kinks cultists that Ray Davies has found a domestic publisher for X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography, a book that was published in England last year.

—David Wild

Although Pierce has seen reruns of the actress's films, he insists he is not a [Marilyn] Monroe cultist.

—David Wallace

If the paranoid cultists and survivalists are right, and the apocalypse is right around the corner, who do we want leading the nation through the pestilence, famine and plagues of locusts?

—Sparkle Hayter

Examples of cultist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Honda fans and Element cultists can rejoice because on Wednesday Automotive News reported the Honda Element will be revived as a hybrid crossover arriving in 2029. — Joel Feder, The Drive, 24 June 2026

The Industry actress, 29, got soaked in fake blood for her role in the horror-action flick as Maria Reaves (the younger sister to protagonist Asia Reaves, played by Zazie Beetz), as did Graham, 56, who plays a satanic cultist. — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 5 Apr. 2026

There’s an incredible sequence where Zazie Beetz’s character fights cultists with a flaming axe. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 25 Mar. 2026

The film also features performances from Emma Chamberlain as traumatized former employee/cultist Pickle and Gabrielle Union as store manager Sharon, who’s been hired to keep the ladies in line after a tragedy recently struck the store. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above