Definition

Ascetic is an adjective that describes a lifestyle characterized by rigorous self-denial, abstinence from worldly pleasures, and often marked by spiritual discipline and austerity. An ascetic person lives a simple life and often practices self-discipline, fasting, and other forms of self-deprivation in order to achieve spiritual or religious goals.

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Excerpts from News Articles

The classically trained musician was associated with the jazz genre and spent her life in a convent. She will remain in death as much as in life a figure of beautiful contradictions. Her legacy as a female instrumentalist, a religious composer of secular music and an ascetic who created work of astounding beauty requires of fans to listen for nuance.

Logo 2023-03-29 The Conversation

Weber inferred that the psychological insecurity that this doctrine had imposed on Calvin’s followers, stern believers in hellfire , was such that they began to look for signs indicating the direction of God’s will in daily life. The consequence was an ethic of unceasing commitment to one’s worldly calling (any lapse would indicate that one’s state of grace was in doubt) and ascetic abstinence from any enjoyment of the profit reaped from such labours. The practical result of such beliefs and practices was, in Weber’s estimation, the most rapid possible accumulation of capital.


Some people interpreted his method differently and went for something more destructive and ascetic than what Sepah initially intended. Some interpreted it to be abstaining from even talking, by meditating and not showing up for work, among many other actions.

Logo 2023-04-14 Asia News Network

Mani grows scrubbier further south. The ruins of Tigani castle and its Byzantine remains stand on a lonely, wild peninsula, and nearby, Odigitria church, also Byzantine, is one of Greece’s most aesthetic and ascetic churches, built into a hidden bluff above a steep slope rolling down to the sea. Both are stunning at sunset.

Logo 2023-04-15 The Guardian

He carries the scars of his abusive upbringing in the foster-care system, but he’s not consumed by darkness and psychological damage. And despite his fussy attire, commitment to excellence and tendency towards verbal directness, he’s no stiff ascetic : before episode one is done, he has punched someone and had sex with someone else.

Logo 2023-04-18 The Guardian

“I don’t think it’s helpful to say: Hey, be an ascetic . Don’t have kids.

Logo 2023-04-20 The Independent