ascetic
noun
a person who dedicates their life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons.
ascetics
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pluralof ascetic.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
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
They tend to conjure images of monks meditating in the mountains or ascetics living in desert caves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2024
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
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
