DictionaryAI

cultural

adjective
SayKUL-chuh-ruhl/ˈkʌlt͡ʃ(ə)ɹəl/UK/ˈkʌlt͡ʃ(ʊ)əɹəl/

2 meanings of cultural

Practice

  1. 1
    way of lifeadjective
    Relating to the customs, beliefs, arts, and shared practices of a society or group.

    The museum's newest exhibit explores the cultural impact of immigration.

    Cultural norms about personal space vary widely from one region to another.

    UsageNot the same as cultured: a cultured person knows a lot about art and music, while cultural describes a group's way of life.

    Similarsocietal

  2. 2
    human-madeadjective
    Resulting from human activity rather than from natural processes.

    Surveyors mapped the cultural features (dams, canals, and roads) spread across the valley floor.

    Sediment cores revealed cultural layers left by centuries of human settlement.

    Similarartificial, anthropogenic

    Oppositenatural

    Note

    A technical usage in which the contrast is with nature, not with the arts or with refinement. In engineering and the natural and physical sciences, cultural lighting means the glow that human works give off, as opposed to natural light. Read the adjective as "human-made" here. A reader expecting the sense about customs and arts can be misled, since nothing about a society's beliefs or practices is implied.

Practice

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Origin

Formed from "culture" combined with the suffix "-al".

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact