ascetic
/əˈsɛ.tɪk/
ascetic adjective: of or relating to ascetics.
Adjective
ascetic (comparative more ascetic, superlative most ascetic)
- Of or relating to ascetics.
- Synonyms:
- ascetical
- Characterized by rigorous self-denial or self-discipline; austere; abstinent; involving a withholding of physical pleasure.
- In a word, the stern, ascetic rigor of the temple discipline, which had been so long exchanged for prodigal and licentious indulgence, seemed at once to have revived at Templestowe under the severe eye of Lucas Beaumanoir.1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe: A Romance, published 1868, page 151
- The rich communal life of the most ascetic Protestants, for example, the Hutterites and the Old Order Mennonites, with their nineteenth century dress and preference for antiquated technology, refutes such superficial judgments.1999, Alan Davies, Tradition and Modernity in Protestant Christianity, Karigoudar Ishwaran (editor), Ascetic Culture: Renunciation and Worldly Engagement, page 30
Noun
ascetic (plural ascetics)
- One who is devoted to the practice of self-denial, either through seclusion or stringent abstinence.
- First, the technical terms used to signify hindu ascetics, hermits, mendicants and some related terms are analysed in their religious meaning with the view of avoiding a good deal of confusion that exists in such studies.1982, Mariasusai Dhavamony, Classical Hinduism, page 369
- Female ascetics find shelter in a wide variety of establishments and vary greatly in the degree to which they travel.2004, Lynn Teskey Denton, Female Ascetics in Hinduism, page 110
ascetic meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
ascetic in Hindi
- ascetic, monk
- श्रमण śramaṇ
- an ascetic; devotee of god
- तपस्वी tapasvī
- ascetic
- तपस्वी tapasvī, फ़क़ीराना faqīrānā, गोसाई gosāī, जोगी jogī, जोगन jogan
- ascetic, sanyasi
- संन्यासी sannyāsī
ascetic in Tamil
- துறவி, கடுந்துறவி, தவசி, கடுநோன்பாளர், தன்ஒறுப்பாளர், கடுநோன்பு நோற்கிற
ascetic in Urdu
- an ascetic; devotee of god
- تپسوی tapasvī
- ascetic
- تپسوی tapasvī
- ascetic, hermit
- جوگی jogī
ascetic in Bengali
- ascetic
- সন্ত śonto
More languagesFewer languages
- ascetic in Malayalam
- സന്ന്യാസി sannyāsi
- ascetic in Kannada
- ಕಿತ್ತಡಿ, ಗೊರವ, ಸಂನ್ಯಾಸಿ, ಸಂಯಮಿ
- ascetic in Punjabi
- ਤਪੱਸਵੀ tapassavī, ਜੋਧ jodh
- ascetic in Gujarati
- સંત sant, બાવો bāvo, યોગી yogī
- ascetic in Odia
- ଗୋସାଇଁ gosāĩ
- ascetic in Sanskrit
- जटिल jaṭila, जटाधर jaṭādhara, वनस्पति vánaspáti, यति yáti
- ascetic in Assamese
- সন্ত xonto
- ascetic in Tagalog
- aseta
- ascetic in Arabic
- نُسُكِيّ nusukiyy, نَاسِك nāsik
- ascetic in Malay
- pertapa, zahid
- ascetic in Indonesian
- asketis, zuhud, asket, aulia
Examples of ascetic in a sentence
- This experience enables Nāgārjuna to recognize that desire is the root cause of suffering and motivates him to turn to a more ascetic lifestyle.2015, Carl Olson, Indian Asceticism: Power, Violence, and Play, page 155:
- The ascetics were not only concerned with abstinence from food, and much of the contemporary literature stresses sexual desire and civil ambition as other important dangers to avoid.2015, Susanne Kerner, Cynthia Chou, Morten Warmind, editors, Commensality: From Everyday Food to Feast, unnumbered page:
Synonyms of ascetic
Forms of ascetic
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more ascetic |
| superlative | most ascetic |
| alternative form (obsolete) | ascetick |
| Noun | |
| plural | ascetics |
Origin of ascetic
First use appears c. 1646. From Medieval Latin asceticus, from Ancient Greek ἀσκητικός (askētikós), from ἀσκητής (askētḗs, “monk, hermit”), from ἀσκέω (askéō, “to exercise”).
Words formed from ascetic
Words that rhyme with ascetic
- sympathetic
- hermetic
- kinetic
- athletic
- genetic
- magnetic
- energetic
- pathetic
- syndetic
- aesthetic
- diabetic
- diaeretic
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- frenetic
- mimetic
- peripatetic
- planetic
- poetic
- tonetic
- abietic
- anesthetic
- anoetic
- anuretic
- apathetic
- auxetic
- cybernetic
- dietetic
- epithetic
- Helvetic
- parasympathetic
- parenthetic
- phyletic
- Sidetic
- splenetic
- synaeretic
- synizetic
- tabetic
- threnetic
- alexipyretic
- algetic
- alphabetic
- alphametic
- amuletic
- analgetic
- anchoretic
- anoretic
- aphetic
- aporetic
- archegetic
- asyndetic
- auletic
- autonoetic
- balletic
- Baphometic
- cardioparasympathetic
- cardiosympathetic
- cometic
- conspiracy-theoretic
- cynegetic
- diagenetic
- diakinetic
Questions about ascetic
- What does ascetic mean?
- Ascetic means of or relating to ascetics.
- What is ascetic in Hindi?
- Ascetic in Hindi is श्रमण (śramaṇ), तपस्वी (tapasvī), फ़क़ीराना (faqīrānā). See Ascetic meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use ascetic in a sentence?
- This experience enables Nāgārjuna to recognize that desire is the root cause of suffering and motivates him to turn to a more ascetic lifestyle.
- What part of speech is ascetic?
- Ascetic can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce ascetic?
- Ascetic is pronounced /əˈsɛ.tɪk/.
Words near ascetic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ascetic (page history and authors); गोसाई (Hindi) (page history and authors); ascetic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); تپسوی (Urdu) (page history and authors); সন্ত (Bengali) (page history and authors); ascetic (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਜੋਧ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); બાવો (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ଗୋସାଇଁ (Odia) (page history and authors); जटाधर (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); সন্ত (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “ascetic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ascetic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.