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

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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

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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

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

He was neither financially stable nor ascetic enough to commit to the artist’s lot without the remarkable self-sacrifice of his wife, Annalee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

Her fame grows enormous with the 1975 release of “Horses” and the international touring that followed, yet she retains the bearing of an ascetic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 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

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

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

But they’re equally famous because of how uncomfortable many find them, almost like an endurance test, the way ascetics lie on beds of nails.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2022

Most of it he contributed anonymously to the monks of a local monastery—humble ascetics who had dedicated their lives to raising German police dogs.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Related Words

• austere
• disciplined