cultural
Americanadjective
adjective
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of or relating to artistic or social pursuits or events considered to be valuable or enlightened
-
of or relating to a culture or civilization
-
(of certain varieties of plant) obtained by specialized breeding
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cultural
Explanation
The adjective cultural comes from the noun "culture" but has several, subtly different meanings, depending on context. The chief meaning is anything having to do human intellectual or creative output. The word cultural is often used as a synonym for "ethnic," as in, "cultural diversity," which means a variety of people. But it also means having to do with the arts and creativity. When you move, you'll want to move somewhere with a vibrant cultural life—lots of museums, libraries, and concert halls. In the middle is a term like "cultural anthropology," which is the study of a population's work, arts, lifestyles, and ways of interacting.
Vocabulary lists containing cultural
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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.
Take-Two subsidiary Rockstar Games is set to release Grand Theft Auto VI, a videogame expected to land as a cultural juggernaut, later this month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Friggieri said veterans need to be able to plan around key dates, but he said he was not calling for a ban, because his organisation understands the cultural importance of firework displays.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Between Lightfoot and Gord Downie and countless others, rock and folk music genuinely tie Canadian cultural identity together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
"Rocky" became a cultural phenomenon and its iconic imagery lives on to this day: the Philadelphia museum steps, the gray sweatsuit, and the unmistakable cry of "Adrian!"
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
They had made important contributions to every aspect of its economic, educational, and cultural life.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
