cult

Study(12)

/kʌlt/

noun 3adj 3

Collocations

(noun.) worship of a person/thing

ADJ

personality

Many followers were drawn into the celebrity's personality cult during the 1970s.

CULT + NOUN

figure, hero

The band's lead singer turned into a cult hero after their underground album became popular online.

status

The old horror film gradually gained cult status among teenagers who discovered it online.

following

That independent film director has developed a devoted cult following among cinema enthusiasts worldwide.

band, book, film

PREP

~ of

There is a growing cult of organic food among people who care about their health.

(noun.) religious group

ADJ

religious

A religious cult gained many followers in our town during the 1980s.

CULT + NOUN

leader, member | image, object, statue | practice

Definitions

noun

The veneration, devotion, and religious rites given to a deity (especially in a historical polytheistic context), or (in a Christian context) to a saint; a subset of worship.

imperial cult

the cult of Mary

A group of people having an obsession with or intense admiration for a particular activity, idea, person or thing.

the heavy metal cult

the cult of basketball

A group, sect or movement following an unorthodox religious or philosophical system of beliefs, especially one in which members remove and exclude themselves from greater society, including family members not part of the cult, and show extr

Two former cult members explain the difficulties they had extricating themselves from it.

Werner Erhard's highly successful est cult is partly derived from Scientology. Erhard had some experience with Scientology in 1969. Then he worked for a while in Mind Dynamics, itself an offshoot of Jose Silva's Mind Control.

adj

Of or relating to a cult.

Enjoyed by a small, loyal group.

a cult horror movie

To a certain extent, the cult movie and the classic are opposites, appealing to vastly different audiences. Whereas a film can become an instant cult, and then forgotten, a film cannot become an “instant classic”, which is only critical shorthand for “excellent”.

Alternative form of kvlt.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — an interest followed with exaggerated zeal

noun — a system of religious beliefs and rituals

cultus

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

imperial cult

Wiktionary

the cult of Mary

Wiktionary

"When frying sausages," remarked Cripps, who seemed to regard that occupation as a cult, "it is advisable to perforate the outer skin with a fork."

Wiktionary

a cult horror movie

Wiktionary

Monte Hellman, whose terse action films, epitomized by the 1971 road movie “Two-Lane Blacktop,” made him a cult hero of the American independent film movement, died on Tuesday in Palm Desert, Calif.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, cult is marked as informal, derogatory. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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