Cultist
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One of a school of Spanish poets who imitated the -pedantic affectation and labored elegance of Góngora y Argote, a Spanish writer (1561–1627).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a member of an unorthodox cult who generally lives outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader
- noun a member of a religious cult
cultist
cult·ist
ˈkəl-tist
pluralcultists
: a member of a cult: such as
a
: a devotee or member of a religious cult
In 1826 … Shakers were persecuted as cultists distinguished by their use of dance in worship, their celibacy and their belief in their founder, Mother Ann, as equal to Jesus.
- Robert Minkoff
b
: one who exhibits great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, etc.
… at a time when the Kinks don't even have an American record deal, it's heartening for aging Kinks cultists that Ray Davies has found a domestic publisher for
X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography, a book that was published in England last year.
- David Wild
Although Pierce has seen reruns of the actress's films, he insists he is not a [Marilyn] Monroe cultist.
- David Wallace
If the paranoid cultists and survivalists are right, and the apocalypse is right around the corner, who do we want leading the nation through the pestilence, famine and plagues of locusts?
- Sparkle Hayter
cultist
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cult
(kŭlt)
n.
1.
a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
b. The followers of such a religion or sect.
2. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
3. The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
4. A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.
5.
a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
b. The object of such devotion.
6. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.
[Latin cultus,
worship, from past participle of colere,
to cultivate; see
kwel- in
Indo-European roots.]
cul′tic,
cult′ish adj.
cult′ism n.
cult′ist n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.