asceticism

Definition of asceticismnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of asceticism Upon his election, Bergoglio took the name Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, who was known for his asceticism and ministry to the poor. Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 23 Apr. 2025 The bout of asceticism didn’t deter her from finishing a quarter of the album, however. Arimeta Diop, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025 Louise tells tales of drunkenness, asceticism, death. Hervé Guibert, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024 And, for a population just one generation removed from near-universal poverty, Western celebrations of India’s mystical asceticism hold little appeal. Peter Martin, Foreign Affairs, 15 Apr. 2015 See All Example Sentences for asceticism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asceticism
Noun
  • Individuals with Neptune in Pisces are often deeply empathetic and imaginative, dreaming through art, spirituality and the emotional tides of humanity.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026
  • But the practicing Buddhist also finds the relationship between spirituality and AI to be fraught.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Coptic monasticism was one of the oldest forms of organized Christian monasticism, laying the groundwork for traditions that endure to this day.
    Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • There's a sort of a natural world religiousness or spirituality or philosophy that swells around a lot of things and different characters.
    Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Key measures of religiousness have remained remarkably stable since 2020, according to recent Pew Research Center polling.
    Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • Others limit prayer to God alone and emphasize remembering saints primarily as historical models of holiness.
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2026
  • Even adversaries in the Arab world have never sunk to attacking the holiness of the Western Wall.
    Steven Burg, Sun Sentinel, 23 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Freed from all the entanglements that come with having to launch a ground invasion, air war can overfly not just morality and law but arguments, rationales, the calibration of risks to rewards and of suffering to satisfaction.
    Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
  • This split makes reason, self-knowledge and morality possible.
    Ross Channing Reed, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In the years following Wallace’s death, this aura of saintliness likely derived from the combination of his moral seriousness as a fiction writer—his attunement to the heroism of private suffering and emotional endurance—and the fact of his premature end.
    Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • The massive redevelopment of Pimlico is the centerpiece of a broader push to reinvigorate the sanctity of the second jewel in Baltimore and to invest in the Park Heights community.
    Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2026
  • The question of women’s participation is framed not as administrative policy, but as a threat to the sanctity of Torah itself, as though women seeking to be tested on halacha must first overcome a presumption of unworthiness.
    Rabba Sara Hurwitz, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Rural, poor voters eagerly support candidates who flaunt their devotion to big-city business interests such as utilities or real estate developers.
    Steve Bousquet, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Team devotion may not be sensible.
    USA TODAY, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Asceticism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asceticism. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on asceticism

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster