ascetic

adjective

as·​cet·​ic ə-ˈse-tik 

a-

variants or less commonly ascetical

ə-ˈse-ti-kəl 

1

: practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline

an ascetic monk

an ascetic diet

2

: austere in appearance, manner, or attitude

ascetic noun

ascetically

ə-ˈse-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

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

The level at the very top makes former communist leaders appear positively ascetic. —Gregory Feifer, Foreign Affairs, 8 Aug. 2016

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

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

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Kids Definition

ascetic

adjective

as·​cet·​ic ə-ˈset-ik 

a-

1

: following a practice of not giving in to one's desires especially as a means of religious discipline

an ascetic way of life

2

: harshly simple : austere

ascetic surroundings

ascetic noun

asceticism

ə-ˈset-ə-ˌsiz-əm 

noun