asceticism

/əˈsɛt.əˌsɪz.əm/

//əˈsɛt.əˌsɪz.əm// noun

"asceticism" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“asceticism” is an uncommon English word, ranked #59,200 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#59,200
frequency rank, English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The principles and practices of an ascetic; extreme self-denial and austerity.

Key facts for asceticism
PropertyValue
Headwordasceticism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈsɛt.əˌsɪz.əm/
Letters10
Frequency rank#59,200
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “asceticism” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). asceticism lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for asceticism is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈsɛt.əˌsɪz.əm/. Corpus data places it at rank #59,200 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The principles and practices of an ascetic; extreme self-denial and austerity.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for asceticism in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From ascetic + -ism. The correct English form is asceticism, spelled A-S-C-E-T-I-C-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The principles and practices of an ascetic; extreme self-denial and austerity.

Etymology

From ascetic + -ism.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "asceticism"?
"asceticism" is spelled A-S-C-E-T-I-C-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈsɛt.əˌsɪz.əm/.
What does "asceticism" mean?
As a noun, "asceticism" means: The principles and practices of an ascetic; extreme self-denial and austerity.
How do you pronounce "asceticism"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "asceticism" is /əˈsɛt.əˌsɪz.əm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "asceticism"?
From ascetic + -ism. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “asceticism”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-S-C-E-T-I-C-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈsɛt.əˌsɪz.əm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list