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ascetic

 - 3 dictionary results

as⋅cet⋅ic

  [uh-set-ik]
Use ascetic in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons.
2. a person who leads an austerely simple life, esp. one who abstains from the normal pleasures of life or denies himself or herself material satisfaction.
3. (in the early Christian church) a monk; hermit.
–adjective Also, as⋅cet⋅i⋅cal.
4. pertaining to asceticism.
5. rigorously abstinent; austere: an ascetic existence.
6. exceedingly strict or severe in religious exercises or self-mortification.
Origin:
1640–50; < Gk askētikós subject to rigorous exercise, hardworking, equiv. to askē- (see askesis ) + -tikos -tic

Related forms:
as⋅cet⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
3. anchorite, recluse; cenobite. 5. strict, frugal, plain. 6. fanatic.

Antonyms:
5. self-indulgent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ascetic
as·cet·ic   (ə-sět'ĭk)   
n.  A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion.
adj.  

  1. Leading a life of self-discipline and self-denial, especially for spiritual improvement. See Synonyms at severe.

  2. Pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic; self-denying and austere: an ascetic existence.


[Late Greek askētikos, from Greek askētēs, practitioner, hermit, monk, from askein, to work.]
as·cet'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ascetic  (adj.)
1646, from Gk. asketikos "rigorously self-disciplined," from asketes "monk, hermit," from askein "to exercise, train," originally "to train for athletic competition, practice gymnastics, exercise." The noun meaning "one of the early Christians who retired to the desert to live solitary lives of meditation and prayer" is from 1673.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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