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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

ascetic

/əˈsɛtɪk/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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uh-SET-ik: the middle syllable carries the stress.

The sc before e has a single s sound. Both the e in SET and the final i are short vowels.

3 syllables · Stress on syllable 2

TRY SAYING
The writer described an ascetic life in a mountain cabin.

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

What does ascetic mean?

adjective

  1. Of or relating to ascetics.
  2. Characterized by rigorous self-denial or self-discipline; austere; abstinent; involving a withholding of physical pleasure.

noun

  1. One who is devoted to the practice of self-denial, either through seclusion or stringent abstinence.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/əˈsɛtɪk/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

A man of deep character, a man with an alert mind, grim, ascetic, self-contained, formidable—so I read Dr. Leslie Armstrong.
Arthur Conan DoyleThe Return of Sherlock HolmesProject Gutenberg ebook #108
Casuistry, and an ascetic morality, made up, in most cases, the greater part of the moral philosophy of the schools.
Adam SmithAn Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsProject Gutenberg ebook #3300
More book examples (3)
They lived for the most part a strictly ascetic life, being indeed the legitimate predecessors of the early Christian hermits and monks.
John FiskeThe Unseen World, and Other EssaysProject Gutenberg ebook #1486
This ugly sunlit picture of the stupidity and cruelty of the earth sent the ascetic finally to his prayers for purification and new thoughts.
G. K. (Gilbert Keith) ChestertonThe innocence of Father BrownProject Gutenberg ebook #204
Hester sought not to acquire anything beyond a subsistence, of the plainest and most ascetic description, for herself, and a simple abundance for her child.
Nathaniel HawthorneThe Scarlet LetterProject Gutenberg ebook #33