culturati

American  

[kuhl-chuh-rah-tee, -rey-tahy] / ˌkʌl tʃəˈrɑ ti, -ˈreɪ taɪ /

noun

(usually used with a plural verb)

1. people deeply interested in cultural and artistic matters.

   Discerning culturati are eagerly awaiting the museum's opening.

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Etymology

Origin of culturati

First recorded in 1890–95; culture + -ati, patterned on literati

Example Sentences

It had bastard status among classical culturati from the get-go, which kept it out of the concert halls where it arguably belonged as a rightful heir to other long-form orchestral music.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026

The world of “Non-Fiction” is itself what autofiction would look like if it were made as a commercial for the culturati.

From The New Yorker • May 3, 2019

The culturati have officially reached the end of the world.

From Slate • Aug. 30, 2016

Before 1955, most popular music was dismissed as kitsch by the reigning culturati, and distinctions between “high” and popular art were rigidly demarcated.

From New York Times • Dec. 11, 2015

But the fourth annual edition of Washington’s only homegrown art fair — a sort of mini Comic Con for the culturati — gets underway in earnest Friday at noon.

From Washington Post