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Synonyms

cultivated

American  
[kuhl-tuh-vey-tid] / ˈkʌl təˌveɪ tɪd /

adjective

  1. prepared and used for raising crops; tilled.

    cultivated land.

  2. produced or improved by cultivation, as a plant.

  3. educated; refined; cultured.

    cultivated tastes.


cultivated British  
/ ˈkʌltɪˌveɪtɪd /

adjective

  1. cultured, refined, or educated

    1. subjected to tillage or cultivation

    2. tilled and broken up

  2. (of plants) specially bred or improved by cultivation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cultivated

First recorded in 1655–65; cultivate + -ed 2

Explanation

The adjective cultivated is used to describe someone who is polite and civilized. The cultivated people at the party would be very offended by crude behavior. Someone who's cultivated is knowledgeable or at least familiar with the arts, current events, history. He or she probably has traveled widely, or at least has read about other people and places. In other words, a cultivated person is a citizen of the world. As it applies to farming, cultivated soil is tilled, or churned, to prepare it for planting.

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Vocabulary lists containing cultivated

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Cultivated meat companies are bulking up their lobbying efforts and also exploring whether there's any way the upcoming Farm Bill could include some money for them.

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2025

Cultivated products are grown in steel tanks using cells from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a storage bank.

From Seattle Times • May 30, 2024

Cultivated under controlled conditions, spirulina and chlorella are the two most commercially available algae that contain high doses of micronutrients and are rich in protein.

From Science Daily • Dec. 18, 2023

Cultivated meat is made from a small sample of livestock cells collected from living animals, which are then fed a nutrient mix and grown inside steel vats.

From Reuters • Jun. 14, 2023

Cultivated areas were regularly scanned with binoculars but turtles were seldom seen there.

From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by Legler, John M.

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