cultic

C2+ Topic:Religion & Belief

US /ˈkʌltɪk/ UK /ˈkʌltɪk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
relating to a religious cult or ritual worship

The dig uncovered cultic objects used in ancient rites.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · relating to a religious... ritual sacred ceremonial devotional

Opposites

secular

Word family

Derived forms cultically

Related forms cult cultismcultus

Etymology

From Latin cultus ('worship, cultivation, reverence'), from colere ('to cultivate, tend, worship'), with the English adjectival suffix -ic.

cultus Latin colere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Religion & Belief Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# cultic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkʌltɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkʌltɪk/

## Meanings
1. relating to a religious cult or ritual worship

## Examples
- The dig uncovered cultic objects used in ancient rites.

## Synonyms
- ritual
- sacred
- ceremonial
- devotional

## Antonyms
- secular

## Derived Forms
- cultically

## Related Forms
- cult
- cultism
- cultus

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cultus
- Root: colere

## Etymology
From Latin cultus ('worship, cultivation, reverence'), from colere ('to cultivate, tend, worship'), with the English adjectival suffix -ic.

## AI Etymology
Cultic is from Latin cultus ('worship, cultivation, reverence'), from colere ('to cultivate, tend, worship'), with the English adjectival suffix -ic. The ancestry passes through Latin cultus and Latin colere. In present use as an adjective, it means "relating to a religious cult or ritual worship", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include cult, cultism, and cultus; derived forms include cultically. Its contrast set includes secular, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

## Topics
- Religion & Belief
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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