culturally

IPA/ˈkʌltʃərəli/
KK[kˈʌltʃɚəlˌi]IPA/ˈkʌltʃərəli/

culturally — adverb

1. concerning the shared customs, beliefs, and everyday habits of a particular grou

1.adverbB2
Definition

concerning the shared customs, beliefs, and everyday habits of a particular group of people — for example, how they greet each other, what they eat, or how families live together.

Example

Selim's village is culturally very different from the city where he works.

predicative: be culturally + adjective

Doctors are trained to give care that is culturally sensitive to each patient.

common collocation: culturally sensitive

Common collocations
  • culturally sensitive
  • culturally diverse
  • culturally appropriate
  • culturally distinct
Synonyms
  • ethnically

    narrower — refers to shared ancestry rather than customs in general

  • socially

    broader — covers how people behave together, not just shared traditions

Grammar Patterns

culturally + adjective

culturally + past participle

Usage Note

Modifies adjectives or past participles describing customs, identity, or social behaviour. Distinguish from sense 2, which relates strictly to the arts.

Common Mistakes

Japan is culturally to Korea similar.
Japan is culturally similar to Korea.
the adverb sits before the adjective it modifies.

2. concerning what is available or happening in the arts — things like concerts, pl

2.adverbB2
Definition

concerning what is available or happening in the arts — things like concerts, plays, films, exhibitions, and books.

Example

Élise says Paris is culturally richer than any city she has lived in.

common collocation: culturally rich

Gabriel's hometown has little to offer culturally, with no theatres or galleries.

adverbial position: verb + culturally

Common collocations
  • culturally rich
  • culturally vibrant
  • culturally exciting
  • culturally dead
Synonyms
  • artistically

    narrower — refers only to art-making, not also to literature, theatre, etc.

Grammar Patterns

culturally + adjective

Usage Note

Subject is usually a place (city, country, district) or an event (festival, season). Distinguish from sense 1: here the focus is the arts on offer, not shared customs.

Common Mistakes

Madrid is very culture rich.
Madrid is culturally very rich.
use the adverb form before the adjective.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

These three adverbs all describe how groups of people differ, but each picks out a different layer. 'Culturally' covers shared customs, beliefs, food, language use, and traditions — anything learned and passed down. 'Ethnically' is narrower and points at shared ancestry or descent, so two groups can be ethnically the same but culturally quite different after generations abroad. 'Socially' describes how people behave with each other and how society is organised (class, family roles, manners), not the inherited traditions themselves. For example, Brazil and Portugal are culturally close because of shared language and many traditions, ethnically mixed in different ways, and socially organised along quite different lines.

culturally ↗ethnically ↗socially ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • culturally sensitive
  • culturally diverse
  • culturally appropriate
  • culturally rich
  • culturally vibrant

Prepositions

  • culturally similar to
  • culturally different from

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English by adding the adverb ending '-ly' to the adjective 'cultural', which itself comes from the noun 'culture'. 'Culture' was borrowed into English from French 'culture' in the late Middle Ages, going back to Latin 'cultura', meaning 'tending, growing, or caring for' — first used of crops and only later of the human mind and shared way of life.