ascetic

American  

[uh-set-ik] / əˈsɛt ɪk /

noun

• ascetics
  plural

1. 

   a person who dedicates their life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons.

2. a person who leads an austerely simple life, especially one who abstains from the normal pleasures of life or shuns material satisfaction.

3. (in the early Christian church) a monk; hermit.

   Synonyms:

   cenobite, recluse, anchorite

---

adjective

1. relating to asceticism, the doctrine that one can reach a high spiritual state through the practice of extreme self-denial or self-mortification.

2. rigorously abstinent; austere.

   an ascetic existence.

   Synonyms:

   plain, frugal, strict

   Antonyms:

   self-indulgent

3. exceedingly strict or severe in religious exercises or self-mortification.

   Synonyms:

   fanatic

ascetic British  

/ əˈsɛtɪk /

noun

1. a person who practises great self-denial and austerities and abstains from worldly comforts and pleasures, esp for religious reasons

2. (in the early Christian Church) a monk

---

adjective

1. rigidly abstinent or abstemious; austere

2. of or relating to ascetics or asceticism

3. intensely rigorous in religious austerities

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonascetic
  noun
• nonascetical
  adjective
• preascetic
  adjective
• pseudoascetic
  adjective
• pseudoascetical
  adjective
• unascetic
  adjective
• ascetically
  adverb
• nonascetically
  adverb
• pseudoascetically
  adverb
• unascetically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ascetics
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of ascetic

First recorded in 1640–50; from Greek askētikós “subject to rigorous exercise, hardworking,” equivalent to askē- ( see ascesis) + -tikos adjective suffix; see -tic

---

Explanation

Want to live an ascetic lifestyle? Then you better ditch the flat panel TV and fuzzy slippers. To be ascetic, you learn to live without; it's all about self-denial. Ascetic is derived from the Greek asketes, meaning “monk,” or “hermit.” Later that became asketikos, meaning “rigorously self-disciplined,” which gives us the Modern English ascetic. Ascetic can be a noun: a person with incredible self-discipline and the ability to deprive herself, or an adjective that describes such a people or their lifestyle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ascetic ascetics

It draws its beliefs from the teachings of Lord Swaminarayan, a late 18th-Century celibate ascetic who is regarded by his followers as an incarnation of Vishnu, the revered Hindu god of preservation.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

But, as Stone makes clear in her video content, her definition of liking or even loving a husband is both laborious and ascetic to an extreme.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

Churchill was a short, stout, luxury-loving aristocrat, while de Gaulle was a tall, angular ascetic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

And at this precise moment, amid a coalition burned out on self-flagellation and ascetic living, a Totenkopf has been deemed forgivable.

From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026

I am still a Samana, he thought, still an ascetic and a beggar.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse

For festival-goers, a major attraction is the presence of naked Naga sadhus, or ascetics, and it is a spectacle to watch as they hurl themselves into the icy waters.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2025

These ascetics attracted followers, and as a result monasteries and hermitages flourished in less hospitable areas.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

Or consider 12th century Taoist ascetics who thought sleep deprivation could bring them closer to the truth.

From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2023

It’s not long before one starts to wonder just what “Father” these ascetics are working in the name of.

From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2022

He remembered how once, as a youth, he had compelled his father to let him go and join the ascetics, how he had taken leave of him, how he had gone and never returned.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• austere
• disciplined

---