monastic

1 of 2

adjective

mo·​nas·​tic mə-ˈna-stik 

1

: of or relating to monasteries or to monks or nuns

the rituals of monastic life

2

: resembling (as in seclusion or ascetic simplicity) life in a monastery

shows a monastic dedication to his job

monastically

mə-ˈna-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

monasticism

mə-ˈna-stə-ˌsi-zəm 

noun

monastic

2 of 2

noun

plural monastics

: a member of a monastic order : a person (such as a monk) who lives under religious vows

Monastics are people who … every day try hard to become part of a community—to relinquish aspects of the very egoism the rest of us spend our lives, in various ways, trying to enhance.

—Robert Coles

Examples of monastic in a Sentence

Adjective

He founded a monastic order in Belgium.

He shows a monastic dedication to his job.

She studied for the test with monastic zeal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

At one end of the bright entrance hall, which runs parallel to the front of the house, a door gives way to the building’s showpiece: a dim, sand-hued bedroom that is at once monastic, womblike and glamorous. —Suleman Anaya, New York Times, 3 May 2024

In the years leading up to his death, from complications due to AIDS, at the age of thirty-one, the crowds kept getting bigger, but his process stayed the same: steady hand, monastic concentration. —Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1632, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

monastic

adjective

mo·​nas·​tic mə-ˈnas-tik 

1

: of or relating to monks or monasteries

2

: resembling life in a monastery

monastic noun

monastically

-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

monasticism

-tə-ˌsiz-əm 

noun