Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
cult (noun)1.
formal religious veneration - worship
2.
a system of religious beliefs and ritual , also its body of adherents
3.
a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious , also its body of adherents
4.
a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator - health cults
5.
a) great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book) , especially such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad
b) the object of such devotion
c) a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
cult (noun)1.
a group of people showing intense devotion to a cause, person, or work (as a film)
SYNONIMS:
audience, followership, followingRELATED WORDS:
discipleship; fandom2.
a body of beliefs and practices regarding the supernatural and the worship of one or more deities
SYNONIMS:
credo, creed, cult, faith, persuasionRELATED WORDS:
church, communion, denomination, sect; doctrine, dogma, theology; deism, heathenism, monotheism, paganism, pantheism, polytheism, theismNEAR ANTONYMS:
agnosticism, know-nothingism; atheism, godlessness, nonbelief, secularism, unbelief