Meaning & use
cultural
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Connected with the customs, beliefs, art and ways of life of a particular society or group.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: cultural differences; not normally used with very.
Patterns
- cultural differences
- cultural background
- cultural identity
Cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings at work.
She is proud of her cultural heritage.
The festival celebrates the region's cultural traditions.
adjectivenot comparable
Connected with the arts, such as music, theater, literature and museums.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: a cultural event, a cultural center.
Patterns
- cultural event
- cultural center
- cultural life
The city has a rich cultural life, with theaters and galleries.
We visited the new cultural center downtown.
Free concerts are part of the cultural programme.
adjectivebefore a nounbiologyspecialist
Used in science to describe organisms or cells grown in a controlled laboratory medium.
Grammar: Appears before a noun: cultural methods.
Patterns
- cultural medium
The lab studied the cultural characteristics of the bacteria.
Cultural methods allow scientists to grow the cells outside the body.
Cultural techniques were used to identify the organism.
Common combinations
- cultural heritage
- The old harbor is part of the town's cultural heritage.
- cultural diversity
- The school values cultural diversity.
- cultural differences
- Cultural differences affect how people greet each other.
- cultural identity
- Language is a key part of cultural identity.
- cultural event
- The cultural event drew thousands of visitors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ethnic
- Ethnic relates to a shared ancestry or race of a group, while cultural relates to customs and art in general.
- artistic
- Artistic concerns the arts only, whereas cultural also includes customs and traditions.
- social
- Social relates to how people live together in society, with no special focus on traditions or arts.
Opposites
Word family
- culture noun
- the customs and arts of a society
- culturally adverb
- in a way that relates to culture
- cultured adjective
- educated and refined in the arts
- multicultural adjective
- involving several cultures
Commonly confused: cultural or cultured? cultural or culture?
cultural vs cultured
Cultured describes a person who is refined and well educated in the arts; cultural describes things relating to a culture.
cultural vs culture
Culture is the noun for the customs of a society; cultural is the adjective that describes things related to it.
Practice
Visiting a foreign country can make you aware of ____ differences in how people greet one another.
Choose one answer.
Cultural is the adjective that modifies differences. Cultured describes a refined person, and culture is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cultural”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.