What does culturati mean?
The culturati are the people at the heart of a society's cultural life: artists, critics, patrons, editors, and passionate followers of literature, music, theatre, art, and ideas. The word functions as a collective plural noun — one speaks of 'the culturati' rather than 'a culturatus' — and it typically appears in journalistic or conversational contexts rather than formal scholarship. Coined as a blend of 'culture' and 'literati', it inherits the literati's sense of an enlightened, educated class while broadening it beyond books to culture in general. Its tone is often lightly ironic: to describe a crowd as 'the culturati' may compliment their refinement or gently mock their self-regard, depending on the writer's intent. Useful synonyms include intelligentsia, cognoscenti, and glitterati, each shading the meaning differently. For anyone writing about the social geography of taste — who sets trends, attends openings, and shapes reputations — culturati offers a compact, evocative label for the culturally influential.
nounThe culturati are people who are deeply engaged in the arts and intellectual culture — critics, patrons, tastemakers, and avid followers of literature, music, art, and ideas. The word is a plural noun used collectively, often as 'the culturati'.
- People collectively regarded as devoted to, knowledgeable about, or influential in the arts and intellectual culture; the culturally sophisticated set.
"The gallery opening drew the entire culturati of the city, along with a few curious tourists."
"Her salon became a gathering place for the culturati of interwar Paris."
"The festival's guest list read like a who's who of the national culturati."
Culturati is inherently a collective plural and does not take a further plural ending; it is treated like 'the literati' or 'the elite'.
"Every opening night brings out the culturati."
Culturati is a modern blend word — coined from 'culture' plus 'literati' — proving that English is still minting new vocabulary by remixing old Latin roots.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of culturati
Culturati was formed in the twentieth century as a blend of 'culture' and 'literati', the latter a nineteenth-century borrowing from Italian and Spanish words ultimately deriving from Latin litteratus ('learned'). The root behind 'culture' itself is Latin cultura, meaning cultivation or tending, which also gives us cultivate, acculturation, and cult. Like its model 'literati', the new word adopted an Italianate plural ending, presenting a group of people as a single cultured class.
How culturati is actually used
Culturati is always used collectively ('the culturati'), never of a single person, and carries a mildly ironic or journalistic tone; it often connotes self-conscious sophistication and can be used affectionately or satirically.
Easily confused with culturati
Literati refers specifically to the educated class devoted to literature and learning, while culturati embraces devotees of culture more broadly, including art, music, fashion, and ideas.
Glitterati denotes fashionable celebrities and socialites famous for glamour, whereas culturati emphasizes genuine engagement with arts and intellectual life.