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cult

Syllabification: (cult)
Pronunciation: /kəlt/

Translate cult | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of cult

noun

  • a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object:the cult of St. Olaf
  • a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister:a network of Satan-worshiping cults
  • a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing:a cult of personality surrounding the leaders
  • [usually as modifier] a person or thing that is popular or fashionable, especially among a particular section of society:a cult film

Derivatives

cultic

Pronunciation: /-tik/

adjective

cultish

adjective

cultishness

noun

cultism

Pronunciation: /-ˌtizəm/

noun

cultist

Pronunciation: /-tist/

noun

Origin:

early 17th century (originally denoting homage paid to a divinity): from French culte or Latin cultus 'worship', from cult- 'inhabited, cultivated, worshiped', from the verb colere

cult in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of cult in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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