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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
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 2 Nov. 2025
The theme for season 13 hasn't been unmasked, but prior seasons have tackled everything from a cult to a coven to aliens.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
But the resonance of their catalogs has garnered peer respect and a generations-spanning cult following.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Now, with talk of overturning the 22nd Amendment and remaking the presidency in the image of a monarchical personal cult, that idea is being shredded.
—Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 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 3 Nov. 2025.
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