Definition of ASCETICS (original) (raw)
1
: practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline
2
: austere in appearance, manner, or attitude
Did you know?
If you’ve been refraining from adding ascetic to your vocabulary, it’s time to let your hair down and live a little! In other words, be the opposite of ascetic. Ascetic comes from askētikos, a Greek adjective meaning “laborious,” and its earliest meaning in English implies the labor involved in abstention from pleasure, comfort, and self-indulgence as a spiritual discipline. These days, ascetic is also used to describe anyone or anything demonstrating marked restraint, plainness, or simplicity, even when no appeals to the divine or spiritual are attached, making it not unlike another adjective with connections to ancient Greece: spartan.
Choose the Right Synonym for ascetic
severe, stern, austere, ascetic mean given to or marked by strict discipline and firm restraint.
severe implies standards enforced without indulgence or laxity and may suggest harshness.
severe military discipline
stern stresses inflexibility and inexorability of temper or character.
stern arbiters of public morality
austere stresses absence of warmth, color, or feeling and may apply to rigorous restraint, simplicity, or self-denial.
living an austere life in the country
ascetic implies abstention from pleasure and comfort or self-indulgence as spiritual discipline.
the ascetic life of the monks
Examples of ascetic in a Sentence
Patterson's collection begins on the walls of the stairway to his basement. "That's where Cindy draws the line. That's probably a real good idea," he says. Mattsson, ascetic for a bachelor, imposes the same rule on himself. LeBeau, who has never been married, is much less restrained. —
Tom Harpole, Air & Space, December 1999/January 2000 By Hollywood standards, Calley's career path may seem enigmatic, but then, so is his personality. If Mark Canton, the previous Sony president, was the boastful, Armani-clad big spender, Calley is downright ascetic, a man who disdains Hollywood profligacy. —Peter Bart, GQ, August 1997 He converted to Catholicism and, after a long period of intense self-questioning, became a Trappist monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, which, at the time, was as ascetic and demanding as any monastery of the Middle Ages. —Julius Lester, Falling Pieces of the Broken Sky, 1990
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Adams, running for office, made gestures at his own ascetic habits, passing himself off as a vegan. —Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024 Though Johnson’s ascetic yet exorbitant lifestyle falls on the extreme end of the spectrum, methodically tracking personal biometrics — from daily nutritional macros to the quality of sleep — has gone mainstream through tech wearables from brands like Apple, Oura and Fitbit. —Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 14 Oct. 2024 She was especially drawn to the Cathars, a medieval sect whose ascetic practices spoke to her own quest for disembodiment, as did their martyrdom. —Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2024 This course starts with the doctrinal story of the Buddha’s life, from his early years as Prince Siddhartha Gautama to his transformation into the famed ascetic and spiritual teacher venerated during his lifetime across what is today northern India and Nepal. —Mitch Hendrickson, The Conversation, 29 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for ascetic 
Word History
Etymology
Greek askētikos, literally, laborious, from askētēs one that exercises, hermit, from askein to work, exercise
First Known Use
1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of ascetic was in 1646
Dictionary Entries Near ascetic
Cite this Entry
“Ascetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ascetic. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.
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Last Updated: 21 Oct 2024 - Updated example sentences
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