cult vs fad

cult

noun
  • A group of people having an obsession with or intense admiration for a particular activity, idea, person or thing. 

  • The veneration, devotion, and religious rites given to a deity (especially in a historical polytheistic context), or (in a Christian context) to a saint. 

  • A group, sect or movement following an unorthodox religious or philosophical system of beliefs, especially one in which members remove and exclude themselves from greater society, including family members not part of the cult, and show extreme devotion to a charismatic leader. 

adj
  • Enjoyed by a small, loyal group. 

  • Of or relating to a cult. 

fad

noun
  • A phenomenon that becomes popular for a very short time. 

How often have the words cult and fad occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )