monastic Hear it!

monastic Definition

mo·nas·tic (mə nastik)

adjective

  1. of or characteristic of a monastery
  2. of or characteristic of monks or nuns or their way of life; ascetic, austere, etc.

Etymology: ME monastik < ML(Ec) monasticus < LGr(Ec) < Gr monastikos < monazein: see monastery

noun

one living a monastic life

monastic Related Forms
mo·nas·ti·cally adverb
monastic Synonyms

monastic

modif.

humble, pious, devout, ascetic; see religious 2.

monastic Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • take: They come from 20 different countries and have taken lifelong monastic vows, while at the same time retaining their own denominations.
  • want: I use no java or frames, wanting fellow monastics on low budgets with old programs to have equal access.

Adjective modifier

  • fellow: I use no java or frames, wanting fellow monastics on low budgets with old programs to have equal access.
  • old: Lindisfarne Priory, the oldest monastic ruin in the county, dates from 1093.
  • large: As the name suggests Bolton Abbey was originally a large monastic Estate, based around the 12 th century priory.

Modifies a noun

  • grange: By the 14th century, large upland areas of the Yorkshire Dales were given over to monastic granges.
  • precinct: This site offered the monks greater scope for the laying out of a monastic precinct on a large scale.
  • cartulary: They were included in some surveys of ecclesiastical property and records pertaining to them may also appear in monastic cartularies or bishop's registers.
  • cloister: Early in 2001 a northern cloister was opened where once the monastic cloister stood.
  • calm: Subsequent alterations and restorations of the beautiful little church have taken place at various times but it retains an atmosphere of monastic calm.
  • refectory: The repeated alterations may have taken their toll on the medieval buildings of the former monastic refectory.

Modifying Another Word

  • almost: Ours was an entirely masculine, almost monastic society.
  • also: An odd feature of the medieval Church in England was that a number of cathedrals were also monastic churches.
  • too: Or we fall into the category of trying to maintain too monastic a diet for too long.

Noun used with modifier

  • Buddhist: The Western Buddhist milieu may also require a heuristic recovery of the Vinaya tradition of Buddhist monastic regulation.
  • century: Examine the sundial in the forecourt, believed to be of 8th century monastic origin.