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monasticism

monasticism

2 9.1
A religious life where people live simply, often in a community and follow strict rules
  • noun
  • /məˈnæstɪˌsɪzəm/
: monasticismo
  • Many people are drawn to the principles of monasticism to seek spiritual growth through discipline and silence.
  • early monasticism

Generally, Irish monasticism was very austere.

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Examples

  • Living a life of monasticism often requires individuals to embrace asceticism and communal living.

  • Precisely this sense of danger and disregard fed the spiritual vigor of early desert monasticism.

    Academic text (1994)
  • This could be compatible with Christian monasticism or, you know, other forms of Christian practice.

  • So the first forms of monasticism are those of the Egyptian desert.

  • Amy had dug up all this information about women in early monasticism.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Generally, Irish monasticism was very austere.

  • Such similarities between Jewish religious learning and Christian monasticism had never before been identified archaeologically.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Her assignment was to research the double monasteries of early monasticism.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Hence the equally apt comparison to Benedict's second namesake, the father of Benedictine monasticism and patron of Europe.

    Academic text (2010)
  • In the 1980s, there were persons in the United Methodist Church interested in pursuing an ecumenical monasticism, which was a new venture for Methodists, who have no tradition of monastic communities.

    Academic text (2013)

Synonyms

monkhood
vsmonasticism
1 8.1

To live in a monastery as a religious person

is about the formal way of life with vows and communal rule
monkery
vsmonasticism
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A way of living simply like a monk

is the institutional religious system with formal vows, obedience, and community rule

How Ascetic

asceticism
  • Formal
3 9.4
monasticism
2 9.1
religious
∞ 2.7
worldly
48 5.8

Surface Forms

monasticism singular
monasticisms plural

Morphology

monasticism = monastic (transparent) = monastic + ism

Formed by the adjective 'monastic' plus the noun-forming suffix '-ism' meaning a system or practice, so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

Monasticism comes from an old Greek word monos, meaning 'alone', and it is the same root in monk and monastery. So, monasticism is the way of life where people live like monks, often apart from ordinary life and with strict rules to focus on their spiritual life.