Definition of asceticism
1
: the practice of strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline : the condition, practice, or mode of life of an ascetic : rigorous abstention from self-indulgence
- Sacrifice, renunciation, asceticism, fasting, returning again to God … : these are inclinations fueled as much by instinct as by religious idealism.
- —Joyce Carol Oates
- Crossing the Atlantic in a small sailboat is an exercise in asceticism, a test of what the human psyche can do without.
- — Sarah Ballard
2
: austerity in appearance, manner, or attitude
- His neatly trimmed white beard and runner's physique suggest the asceticism of a mathematics professor, while his questioning mind signals a mistrust of surface impressions.
- —Bruce Schoenfeld
- In contrast to the chaste asceticism of earlier modernist office towers, the AT&T Building incorporated traditional symbols of imperial power (Roman vaults and arches), prestige (a Chippendale-inspired silhouette), and old money (a huge golden statue in the lobby, which once stood on top of the old AT&T Building).
- —Witold Rybczynski
