Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ASCETIC
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You might find ascetic people at the gym. But not at the dessert buffet.
The word "ascetic" traces back to a Greek one, asketēs, that means "a monk, a hermit, an athlete, or a skilled worker," and further back to askein, "to train, or to exercise."
Part of speech:
Pick the common, serious, very formal word "ascetic" when you want to describe people who live in such a frugal, simple, or self-denying way that they remind you of nuns or monks.
"The movie begins with Nina choking down an ascetic breakfast: one grapefruit."
Explain the meaning of "ascetic" without saying "non-indulgent" or "spartan."
In the Washington Post, Hank Stuever, a television critic, wrote:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1.
The opposite of ASCETIC could be
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