ascetic

[ uh-set-ik ]
See synonyms for: asceticascetics on Thesaurus.com

noun
  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.

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

adjectiveAlso as·cet·i·cal [uh-set-i-kuhl] /əˈsɛt ɪ kəl/ .
  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.

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

Origin of ascetic

1
First recorded in 1640–50; from Greek askētikós “subject to rigorous exercise, hardworking,” equivalent to askē- (see ascesis) + -tikos adjective suffix; see -tic

Other words for ascetic

Opposites for ascetic

Other words from ascetic

  • as·cet·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • non·as·cet·ic, noun, adjective
  • non·as·cet·i·cal, adjective
  • non·as·cet·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • pre·as·cet·ic, adjective
  • pseu·do·as·cet·ic, adjective
  • pseu·do·as·cet·i·cal, adjective
  • pseu·do·as·cet·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • un·as·cet·ic, adjective
  • un·as·cet·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with ascetic

Words Nearby ascetic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ascetic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ascetic

ascetic

/ (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

adjectiveAlso: as'cetical
  1. rigidly abstinent or abstemious; austere

  2. of or relating to ascetics or asceticism

  1. intensely rigorous in religious austerities

Origin of ascetic

1
C17: from Greek askētikos, from askētēs, from askein to exercise

Derived forms of ascetic

  • ascetically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012