not allowing yourself physical pleasures, especially for religious reasons; related to a simple and strict way of living The monks lived a very ascetic life. Living hidden away in the mountains suited his ascetic character.
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monks, hermits, and ascetics
NAmE//əˈsɛt̮əˌsɪzəm//
noun [uncountable] a life of private prayer and asceticismSee ascetic in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation: ascetic