English Dictionary

Definition of “cultured”

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cultured (ˈkʌltʃədPronunciation for cultured) 

Definitions

adjective

  1. showing or having good taste, manners, upbringing, and education
  2. artificially grown or synthesized  ⇒ cultured pearls 
  3. sport of superior quality, as though the product of special training  ⇒ a cultured left foot a cultured backhand 

culture (ˈkʌltʃəPronunciation for culture) 

Definitions

noun

  1. the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action
  2. the total range of activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the group  ⇒ the Mayan culture 
  3. a particular civilization at a particular period
  4. the artistic and social pursuits, expression, and tastes valued by a society or class, as in the arts, manners, dress, etc
  5. the enlightenment or refinement resulting from these pursuits
  6. the attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviour that characterize and inform society as a whole or any social group within it  ⇒ yob culture 
  7. the cultivation of plants, esp by scientific methods designed to improve stock or to produce new ones
  8. stockbreeding the rearing and breeding of animals, esp with a view to improving the strain
  9. the act or practice of tilling or cultivating the soil
  10. biology 
    1. the experimental growth of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, in a nutrient substance (culture medium), usually under controlled conditions See also culture medium
    2. a group of microorganisms grown in this way

verb (tr)

  1. to cultivate (plants or animals)
  2. to grow (microorganisms) in a culture medium

Alternative Forms

ˈculturist noun ˈcultureless adjective

Word Origin

C15: from Old French, from Latin cultūra  a cultivating, from colere to till; see cult

Usage examples

  • Believe it or not, many of them are far more cultured than the artsy crowd thinks.
    Peter Robinson, AFTERMATH (2001)
  • The Italians are essentially an urban people, for whom'civilisation ' means, literally, a cultured , city lifestyle.
    Country Life (2004)
  • Diesel and cultured refinement normally go together about as well as Shane Warne and a real Indian curry.
    Australian News Misc (2004)
  • GAVIN HASTINGS would never pretend to have been the most cultured player to grace Scottish rugby.
    Sun, News of the World (1999)
  • Generous spacing suggests generosity and a cultured background, but may also be a sign of emotional instability and time-wasting.
    Cameron, Ellen, An Introduction to Graphology (1989)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'C'

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