ascetic Hear it!

ascetic Definition

as·cetic (ə set′ik)

adjective

of or characteristic of ascetics or asceticism; self-denying; austere

Etymology: Gr(Ec) askētikos, austere < Gr, laborious, exercised < askein, to exercise, train (for athletic competition)

noun

  1. a person who leads a life of contemplation and rigorous self-denial for religious purposes
  2. anyone who lives with strict self-discipline and without the usual pleasures and comforts

Etymology: < Gr askētēs, monk, hermit

ascetic Related Forms
as·cet′i·cally adverb
ascetic Synonyms

ascetic

modif.

austere, self-denying, plain, rigorous; see moderate 5, modest 2, severe 2. See syn. study atsevere.

ascetic Synonyms

ascetic

n.

holy man, monk, religious devotee, anchorite, self-denier, nun, self-tormenter, hermit, stylite, eremite, fakir, penitent, puritan, yogi, flagellant, mortifier of the flesh, recluse.

ascetic Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • become: He became a very famous ascetic, with a large following of fans.
  • wander: They can be seen as wandering ascetics or living as hermits, and sometimes they travel in groups.
  • find: Within Talmudic Judaism one can find the ascetic and as well as the ecstatic celebration of life.

Adjective modifier

  • great: A great ascetic, St Nil was the founder of several monasteries.
  • religious: A king, who is proud and mighty, persecutes the religious ascetics that live in his realm and drives them out.
  • solitary: The obvious difference was that John seems to be a solitary ascetic not a member of a community.
  • famous: He became a very famous ascetic, with a large following of fans.

Modifies a noun

  • feat: How greatly did the angels marvel at the martyr's ascetic feats?
  • monk: With its rope and tassel and his pale, thin, refined face, it made him look like an old ascetic monk.
  • tradition: The ascetic tradition seems safer in a fallen world.
  • struggle: Despondency and all the carnal passions didst thou dispel from thy soul by the rigors of abstinence and ascetic struggles, O venerable one.
  • ideal: It is an ascetic ideal, in a more uncomplicated form than Buddhism.
  • practice: Even Plato confined ascetic practices to a handful of guardians.

Modifying Another Word

  • very: We also have people who are very ascetic, people who are historically -- a community called Dervish.
  • not: Paul's nonconformity is not ascetic ( Col 2:23 ).
  • rather: The mind boggles at the thought of that rather ascetic pontiff as the Harold Shipman of the Vatican.