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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Cult \Cult\ (k[u^]lt) n. [F. culte, L. cultus care, culture, fr. colere to cultivate. Cf. {Cultus}.]
1. Attentive care; homage; worship.
Every one is convinced of the reality of a better self, and of the cult or homage which is due to it. --Shaftesbury.
2. A system of religious belief and worship.
That which was the religion of Moses is the ceremonial or cult of the religion of Christ. --Coleridge.
3. A system of intense religious veneration of a particular person, idea, or object, especially one considered spurious or irrational by traditional religious bodies; as, the Moonie cult. [PJC]
4. The group of individuals who adhere to a cult (senses 2 or 3). [PJC]
5. A strong devotion or interest in a particular person, idea or thing without religious associations, or the people holding such an interest; as, the cult of James Dean; the cult of personality in totalitarian societies. [PJC]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
cult
noun
1: adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices
2: an interest followed with exaggerated zeal; "he always follows the latest fads"; "it was all the rage that season" [syn: {fad}, {craze}, {furor}, {furore}, {rage}]
3: a system of religious beliefs and rituals; "devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin" [syn: {cultus}, {religious cult}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
58 Moby Thesaurus words for "cult": Sabbatarianism, Weltanschauung, adoration, articles of religion, catechism, celebration, ceremonialism, church, co-worship, communion, connection, credenda, credo, creed, cultism, cultus, denomination, devotion, doctrinal statement, dulia, faith, formalism, formulated belief, gospel, homage, hyperdulia, ideology, idolatry, ism, latria, liturgics, liturgiology, liturgism, mystique, persuasion, political faith, political philosophy, prostration, religion, reverence, ritualism, rituality, ritualization, sabbatism, sacramentalism, sacramentarianism, school, sect, solemn observance, solemnization, symbolics, symbolism, system of belief, transcendent wonder, veneration, world view, worship, worshiping
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |