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.
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