Meaning of ascetic

(adj) pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline; "ascetic practices"

practicing great self-denial; "Be systematically ascetic...do...something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it"- William James; "a desert nomad's austere life"; "a spartan diet"; "a spartan existence"

(noun) someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline