Put simply never has a word been so misused by so many people.
Fact is there is really no clear definition of the meaning.
No matter who you speak to they will give you a different answer. One thing for sure is that the word cult is being used by many different groups these days to intentionally generate hatred and fear of another group. Down through the centuries we have seen millions of people killed, supressed and tortured as a result of wrongly being labelled a cult. It is my experience also that many of the anti-cult movements are even more dangerous then these so called cults. In fact the anti-cult business is a multi million dollar business these days.