cultist

/ˈkʌltɪst/

//ˈkʌltɪst// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cultist" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cultist” is uncommon English (frequency #85,145 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,145
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of a cult.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cultist · cultist · English

cultist · rank #85,145 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,145
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH culex

Nearest frequency peer: culex (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “cultist”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cultist” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cultist
PropertyValue
Headwordcultist
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʌltɪst/
Letters7
Frequency rank#85,145
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cultist” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cultistfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “culex” (#85,144), “cyclamen” (#85,146), “cuffing” (#85,142). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cultist” is #85,145. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cultist is uncommon English at frequency #85,145 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkʌltɪst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A member of a cult.".

cultist has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cult + -ist. The correct English form is cultist, spelled C-U-L-T-I-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of a cult.

Etymology

From cult + -ist.

This word in other languages

sectario(Español)sectateur(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cultist"?
"cultist" is spelled C-U-L-T-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌltɪst/.
What does "cultist" mean?
As a noun, "cultist" means: A member of a cult.
How do you pronounce "cultist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cultist" is /ˈkʌltɪst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cultist"?
From cult + -ist. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cultist", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cuffing#85,142crosser#85,139croaker#85,138diluent#85,176

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list