Meaning & use
cult
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Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
A group with unusual beliefs whose members are devoted to a leader or idea, often in a way that outsiders find controlling or harmful.
Grammar: Countable: a cult, several cults. Can take singular or plural verbs in British English when speaking of its members.
Patterns
- join a cult
- leave a cult
- a cult of something
She spent two years in a cult before her family helped her leave.
Experts say that a cult often cuts members off from their friends.
The documentary follows a cult led by a self-declared prophet.
nounsingulardisapproving
An intense admiration for a person, object or idea, shared by a group of followers.
Grammar: Usually singular and followed by of: the cult of celebrity.
Patterns
- the cult of something
- a cult of personality
Critics worry about the cult of celebrity among teenagers.
The dictator built a cult of personality with giant portraits in every city.
Some executives promote a cult of efficiency at the cost of workers' health.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Loved by a small but very enthusiastic group of fans, rather than by the general public.
Grammar: Goes before a noun: a cult film, a cult hero.
Patterns
- a cult film
- a cult following
The low-budget movie became a cult classic years after its release.
He is a cult figure among old-school gamers.
The band has a loyal cult following in Japan.
nouncountablereligionformal
A system of religious worship, especially of a particular saint or god, in a formal historical sense.
Grammar: A scholarly sense with no negative meaning: the cult of the saint.
Patterns
- the cult of someone
The cult of the saint grew after pilgrims reported miracles.
Archaeologists found a temple devoted to the cult of the sun god.
Historians trace the cult of Isis across the Roman world.
Word forms
| plural | cults |
|---|
Common combinations
- join a cult
- He joined a cult after losing his job.
- cult leader
- The cult leader demanded complete obedience.
- cult following
- The show has a devoted cult following.
- cult classic
- The strange comedy became a cult classic.
- cult of personality
- A cult of personality grew around the president.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sect
- Sect is a more neutral word for a smaller religious group that has split from a larger one, whereas cult often implies manipulation.
- following
- Following means a group of admirers and is neutral, whereas cult can add the idea of intense devotion.
- fandom
- Fandom refers to a community of fans and has no negative suggestion of control.
- movement
- Movement is a neutral term for a group working toward a goal, with no hint of secrecy.
Opposites
Word family
- cultist noun
- a member of a cult
- cultish adjective
- resembling a cult in its devotion or secrecy
- culture noun
- from the same Latin root, meaning the shared customs and arts of a society
- cultlike adjective
- behaving like a cult
Commonly confused: cult or culture? cult or occult?
cult vs culture
Culture means shared customs and arts, while cult means a devoted, often controlling group. The words share a Latin root but are not interchangeable.
cult vs occult
Occult relates to hidden or supernatural practices, while cult is a group of followers.
Practice
A movie that few people saw on release but that a small group of fans now adores is called a ______ film.
Choose one answer.
A cult film is one with a small, intensely devoted audience. Culture is a noun with a different meaning, and culprit means a person who did wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cult”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.