culture 1 of 2

noun

ˈkəl-chər How to pronounce culture (audio)
Definition of culturenext
1
as in civilization
a high level of taste and enlightenment as a result of extensive intellectual training and exposure to the arts because of its wide reputation as a place of culture, Boston became known as "the Athens of America"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lifestyle
the way people live at a particular time and place a study of ancient Anasazi culture as it existed in the canyons of the American Southwest

Synonyms & Similar Words

culture

2 of 2

verb

as in to cultivate
to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care culture bacteria in laboratory dishes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of culture
Noun
The president’s approval rankings tanked despite his enduring presence as a pop culture figure. — Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 4 Nov. 2026 Cerutti has had a long career in French public arts, having served as the Centre Pompidou’s managing director and as chief of staff to the minister of culture, and in the auction houses. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Verb
While these specialties are found across Niigata, the industrial river port city of Nagaoka (nicknamed Fermentation Town) has the ideal climate for culturing. — Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Aug. 2026 Juuso Myllyrinne Juuso Myllyrinne is building the home of comics culture online as CMO of GlobalComix, a rapidly growing platform within its category, with strong app store performance. — Jason Phillips, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for culture
Recent Examples of Synonyms for culture
  1. civilization
  2. lifestyle
  3. cultivate
  4. education
  5. society
  6. grow
  7. accomplishment
  8. promote
Noun
  • The novels follow Cammie Skoura, a brilliant, neurodivergent young scientist aboard a deep-space expedition that uncovers a trail of ancient ruins and long-dead alien civilizations leading toward a mind-shattering discovery.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Key Takeaways Researchers developed a simplified mathematical model to explore how an extraterrestrial civilization might make its transmissions recognizable against the natural signals.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of civilization
Noun
  • The days of the Young Money lifestyle are gone, might as well be raw as fuck.
    — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 4 Nov. 2026
  • In the meantime, Woods has been working as chief creative officer of Gloss Lab, a lifestyle brand still in the early stages of development that specializes in balms and creams.
    — Arushi Jacob, Footwear News, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of lifestyle
Verb
  • In other cases the cells may be cultivated in a bioreactor, in which they are suspended and kept in motion; constant spinning encourages the cells to self-organize into multilayered, three-dimensional structures.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Her musical influences, similarly incongruous on their face, stem from an era of digital music post-iTunes and pre-slop when casual internet explorers could cultivate a sprawling taste profile for free.
    — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of cultivate
Noun
  • Moon’s priorities for another term included expanding students’ access to mental health services, improving teacher recruitment and retention, and increasing career technical education opportunities.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Cothiere will join a school board navigating a time of transition in education.
    — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of education
Noun
  • The team from Germany, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland said analysis of hair in the royal tomb where cannabis seeds turned up, sheds new light on the plant's role in ancient societies.
    — Mary Evans, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The film, set between the years 1945 and 1947, depicts a society struggling to recover from war, only to be reduced, once again, by the arrival of a kaiju (as giant monsters are known in Japanese, and to fans of the corresponding film genre).
    — Matt Alt, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of society
Verb
  • Their activity creates a growing stream of branch updates, code reviews, merges, and repository downloads.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Tapestry's recognition also adds to a growing collection of national honors earned by Minnesota food businesses.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of grow
Noun
  • Those accomplishments do not disappear simply because our professional paths are diverging.
    — Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Passing this bill would also be a great legacy accomplishment for Speaker Johnson, Chairman Arrington, lead Republican co-sponsor Huizenga, and others.
    — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of accomplishment
Verb
  • Rather than campaign for Whatley, he's been promoting his new book criticizing fellow Republicans.
    — Colin Campbell, NPR, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The pastor successfully converted his personal popularity into votes by promoting unity — both among Kansans and between political parties.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of promote

Browse Nearby Words

culturati
culture
cultured
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Culture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/culture. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on culture

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about culture

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of defer

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All