Tribe vs. Cult

Tribenoun

A socially, ethnically, or politically cohesive group of people.

Cultnoun

A group or sect of people with a religious, philosophical or cultural identity, often existing on the margins of society or exploitative towards its members.

Tribenoun

(anthropology) A society larger than a band but smaller than a state.

Cultnoun

Devotion to a saint.

Tribenoun

(zoology) A group of apes who live and work together.

Cultnoun

A religion that evolved out of another religion but has become a different religion through developing a radically different theology.

‘Mormonism is a cult of Christianity because it evolved out of Christianity and claims to be Christian but rejects parts of the Bible and other foundational doctrines of the Christian religion.’;

Tribenoun

The collective noun for various animals.

Cultnoun

(informal) A group of people having an obsession with or intense admiration for a particular activity, idea, person or thing.

Tribenoun

(taxonomy) A hierarchal rank between family and genus.

Cultadjective

Of or relating to a cult.

Tribenoun

(stock breeding) A family of animals descended from some particular female progenitor, through the female line.

‘the Duchess tribe of shorthorns’;

Cultadjective

Enjoyed by a small, loyal group.

‘a cult horror movie’;

Tribeverb

(transitive) To distribute into tribes or classes; to categorize.

Cultnoun

Attentive care; homage; worship.

‘Every one is convinced of the reality of a better self, and of the cult or homage which is due to it.’;

Tribenoun

A family, race, or series of generations, descending from the same progenitor, and kept distinct, as in the case of the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.

‘A wealthy Hebrew of my tribe.’;

Cultnoun

A system of religious belief and worship.

‘That which was the religion of Moses is the ceremonial or cult of the religion of Christ.’;

Tribenoun

A number of species or genera having certain structural characteristics in common; as, a tribe of plants; a tribe of animals.

Cultnoun

A system of intense religious veneration of a particular person, idea, or object, especially one considered spurious or irrational by traditional religious bodies; as, the Moonie cult.

Tribenoun

A nation of savages or uncivilized people; a body of rude people united under one leader or government; as, the tribes of the Six Nations; the Seneca tribe.

Cultnoun

The group of individuals who adhere to a cult (senses 2 or 3).

Tribenoun

A division, class, or distinct portion of a people, from whatever cause that distinction may have originated; as, the city of Athens was divided into ten tribes.

Cultnoun

A strong devotion or interest in a particular person, idea or thing without religious associations, or the people holding such an interest; as, the cult of James Dean; the cult of personality in totalitarian societies.

Tribenoun

A family of animals descended from some particular female progenitor, through the female line; as, the Duchess tribe of shorthorns.

Cultnoun

adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices

Tribeverb

To distribute into tribes or classes.

‘Our fowl, fish, and quadruped are well tribed.’;

Cultnoun

an interest followed with exaggerated zeal;

‘he always follows the latest fads’; ‘it was all the rage that season’;

Tribenoun

a social division of (usually preliterate) people

Cultnoun

a system of religious beliefs and rituals;

‘devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin’;

Tribenoun

a federation (as of American Indians)

Cultnoun

a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object

‘the cult of St Olaf’;

Tribenoun

(biology) a taxonomic category between a genus and a subfamily

Cultnoun

a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or as imposing excessive control over members

‘a network of Satan-worshipping cults’;

Tribenoun

group of people related by blood or marriage

Cultnoun

a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular thing

‘the cult of the pursuit of money as an end in itself’;

Tribe

The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant usage of the term is in the discipline of anthropology.

Cultnoun

a person or thing that is popular or fashionable among a particular group or section of society

‘a cult film’; ‘the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK’;

Cult

In modern English, a cult is a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This sense of the term is controversial, having divergent definitions both in popular culture and academia, and has also been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.