cult

noun

ˈkəlt 

often attributive

1

: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious (see spurious sense 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

cultic

ˈkəl-tik 

adjective

cultish

ˈkəl-tish 

adjective

cultishly

ˈkəl-tish-lē 

adverb

cultishness

ˈkəl-tish-nəs 

noun

cultism

ˈkəl-ˌti-zəm 

noun

cultlike

ˈkəlt-ˌlīk 

adjective

Did you know?

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."

Synonyms

• audience
• followership
• following

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 on the Web

Zoom in: The film, which oozes '90s-era fashion and pure cult campiness, features a Victorian home built on Washington's Whidbey Island. —Meira Gebel, Axios, 10 Oct. 2024

Strong home video sales and cable TV reruns have since ensured the film’s legacy as a bona fide cult classic, with people still running up and quoting the film to Shannon to this day. —Keaton Bell, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2024

Ryder grew into an offbeat romantic lead with Burton’s 1990 cult classic Edward Scissorhands, the teen black comedy Heathers, and Francis Ford Coppola’s take on Dracula. —Judy Berman, TIME, 10 Oct. 2024

Kamal is joined in the cast by Ahmed Siam and Abed Anani, with a special guest appearance by Ghada Adel, the Egyptian actress known for a two-decade string of cult films and box office smashes, including Mohamed Khan’s In The Heliopolis Flat. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Phrases Containing cult

• anti-cult
• cargo cult
• cult of celebrity
• cult of personality
• personality cult
• sub-cult

Kids Definition

cult

noun

ˈkəlt 

1

: a system of religious worship

2

a

: enthusiastic but often temporary devotion to a person, idea, or thing

b

: the object of such devotion

c

: a group of persons who belong to or show devotion to a cult

cultist

ˈkəl-təst 

noun

Medical Definition

cult

abbreviation

culture