ascetic
Americannoun
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a person who dedicates their life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons.
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a person who leads an austerely simple life, especially one who abstains from the normal pleasures of life or shuns material satisfaction.
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(in the early Christian church) a monk; hermit.
adjective
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relating to asceticism, the doctrine that one can reach a high spiritual state through the practice of extreme self-denial or self-mortification.
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rigorously abstinent; austere.
an ascetic existence.
- Antonyms:
- self-indulgent
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exceedingly strict or severe in religious exercises or self-mortification.
- Synonyms:
- fanatic
noun
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a person who practises great self-denial and austerities and abstains from worldly comforts and pleasures, esp for religious reasons
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(in the early Christian Church) a monk
adjective
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rigidly abstinent or abstemious; austere
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of or relating to ascetics or asceticism
-
intensely rigorous in religious austerities
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing ascetic
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Scarlet Letter
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The papers caught the attention of Thomas Edison, then 40 years old, rumpled, ascetic and already the most powerful figure in American electrical innovation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
A jar of homemade pumpkin butter, if you’re feeling ambitious, turns even the most ascetic bowl into a minor celebration.
From Salon • Nov. 13, 2025
A hardline ascetic, Valentin won’t even alert the medics when he’s sick, in case they give him morphine.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025
Disillusioned by the impermanence of life, Siddhartha engaged in six years of ascetic practice and attained enlightenment at the age of 35 in Bodh Gaya in northeast India.
From Seattle Times • May 11, 2024
I am still a Samana, he thought, still an ascetic and a beggar.
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
