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Definition of ascetic : 1. Extremely rigid in self- denial and devotions; austere; severe.
2. In the early church, one who devoted himself to a solitary and contemplative life, characterized by devotion, extreme self- denial, and self- mortification; a hermit; a recluse; hence, one who practices extreme rigor and self- denial in religious things.

Synonyms:

ascetical, abstainer, modest, plain, study atsevere, nondrinker

pure, spinster, unplowed, solitary, virginal, lone, alone, spinsterish, maiden, asexual, unmarried, chaste, monkish, bachelor, virgin, hermit, monk, intact, unwed, single, old maid

celibate, teetotaling, lenten, penitential, miserly, monastic, Trappist, repentant, parsimonious, stoic, abstemious, Franciscan, hermit-like

dour, critical, abrupt, acrimonious, brusque, astringent, stringent, stark, puritanical, cutting, crisp, authoritarian, short, acute, stiff-necked, piquant, strict, oppressive, gruff, strait-laced, rigid, exacting, frosty, keen, dry, hidebound, stern, spare, grim, correct, brisk, obstinate, basic, intolerant, rigorous, meticulous, blunt, fundamental, intense, icy, tart, cool, precise, acerbic, relentless, caustic, raw, severe, curt, disciplined, lean, imperial, sharp, inflexible, unbending, censorious, obdurate, chilly, uncompromising, Spartan, prudish, demanding, Draconian, bleak, harsh

meager, closefisted, thrifty, narrow-fisted, stingy, penny-pinching, hard-fisted, petty, mean, cheeseparing, tight

abstinent, sober-minded, frugal, self-denying, moderate, prudent, temperate, self-depriving, restrained, sober, abnegating, austere, conservative

Usage examples:

• I see in them the mixture of the religious and commercial character, blended in a most extraordinary manner and degree, for here the possession of wealth scarcely interferes with the highest state of ascetic devotion. - "Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846", James Richardson.
• He had been a Vakil of the High Court, but had given up his position to embrace an ascetic life, and had devoted his property to founding a library, only reserving enough for himself and his wife to live upon. - "Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life", Margaret Elizabeth Leigh Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey.
• 23 In the depths of the forest the ascetic practised penance with fast- closed eyes; he intended to deserve Paradise. - "The Fugitive", Rabindranath Tagore.