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cult definition

cult (kult)

noun

    1. a system of religious worship or ritual
    2. a quasi-religious group, often living in a colony, with a charismatic leader who indoctrinates members with unorthodox or extremist views, practices, or beliefs
    1. devoted attachment to, or extravagant admiration for, a person, principle, or lifestyle, esp. when regarded as a fad the cult of nudism
    2. the object of such attachment
  3. a group of followers; sect

Etymology: < L cultus, care, cultivation, orig. pp. of colere, to till: see wheel

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

cult Synonyms

cult

n.

  1. Sect

    clique, band, school, followers; see church 3, faction 1, following, religion 1, 2.

  2. Devotion

    veneration, worship, cultism, hero worship; see admiration, devotion, worshipadmiration, devotion, worship

    1.

Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

cult Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • celebrity: Our sick society is now swamped by the cult of celebrities.

Converse of object

  • explode: To begin, Alan Alford explains that the religions of the Near East were exploded planet cults.

Adjective modifier

  • satanic: An industry of books, conferences and experts appeared to uncover an epidemic of sexual abuse, incest and satanic cults.

Modifies a noun

  • following: With its growing cult following, Dance Monkey Boy, Dance!

Noun used with modifier

  • diffi: However, it has proved diffi cult to measure any reduction in offending, partly due to constraints on data.
cult usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

cult quotes

What's a cult? It just meansnot enough peopletomake a minority.

-Altman, Robert

   It is the man of science, eager to have his every opinion regenerated, his every idea rationalized, by drinking at the fountain of fact, and devoting all the energies of his life to the cult of truth, not as he understands it, but as he does not yet understand it, that ought properly to be called a philosopher.

-Pierce, C(harles) S(aunders)

A cult is a religion with no political power.

-Wolfe,Tom (Thomas Kennerley)

cult quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"cult." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/cult>

APA Style

cult. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/cult

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