Well-read · Philosophy & belief · Character
Ascetic: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Ascetic adjective. Choosing a strict, simple life without comforts or pleasures, often for religious or moral reasons.
How to say it
uh-SET-ik/əˈsɛtɪk/
3 syllables, stressed on the second (SET). Forms: ascetics, asceticism.
Meanings
- Choosing a strict, simple life without comforts or pleasures, often for religious or moral reasons.
- As a noun, a person who lives this way.
Ascetic in a sentence
His flat was ascetic: one chair, one mug and a mattress on the floor.
Desert monks were famous ascetics, living on bread, water and silence.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- austere
- abstemious
- spartan
- self-denying
Opposite:
- self-indulgent
- hedonistic
Where ascetic comes from
From Greek askētikos, from askein, to exercise or train.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Desert monks were famous _____, living on bread, water and silence.
- ascetic
- venial
- numinous
Show the answer
ascetic: Desert monks were famous ascetics, living on bread, water and silence.