1. (a.) Extremely rigid in self-denial and devotion; austere; severe\.

2. (n.) 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.

Albigensian Apostolic Apostolici Catharist Diogenes Encratic Encratite Franciscan Hieronymian Hieronymite Lenten Pythagorean Pythagorist Rechabite Sabbatarian Shaker Spartan Stoic Timon of Athens Trappist Waldensian abbacomes abbot abstainer abstemious abstinent anchoress anchorite anchoritic apologetic astringent atoning austere bald banian bare beadsman bedridden invalid bhikshu brother caloyer candid celibate cenobite chaste cleansing cloistered monk closet cynic common commonplace compensational compensatory continent conventual conventual prior dervish desert fathers desert saints direct disciplined dry dull dwarfed dwarfish eremite eremitic exiguous expiatory fakir flagellant forbearing frank friar frugal fruitarian grand prior gymnosophist hermit hermitess hieromonach homebody homely homespun hydropot impoverished invalid isolationist jejune lay abbot lay brother lean limited loner lustral lustrational lustrative marabout matter-of-fact meager mean mendicant miserly monastic monk mortified narrow natural neat nephalist nephalistic on the wagon open outcast palmer paltry pariah parsimonious penitential piacular pilgrim pillar saint pillarist plain plain-speaking plain-spoken poor prior propitiatory prosaic prosing prosy puny pure purgative purgatorial purifying puritan puritanical reclamatory recluse recompensing redeeming redemptive redressing religieux religious reparative reparatory repentant repenting restitutional restitutive restitutory restrained righting rigoristic rustic sannyasi satisfactional scant scanty schooled scrawny scrimp scrimpy seclusionist self-abasing self-abnegating self-denying self-forgetful selfless severe sexually abstinent shut-in simple simple-speaking skimp skimpy slender slight slim small sober solitaire solitary solitudinarian spare sparing squaring stark starvation stay-at-home stern stingy stinted straightforward straitened stunted stylite subsistence sworn off teetotal teetotaler teetotalist thin trained unadorned unaffected unimaginative unnourishing unnutritious unpoetical unvarnished vegetarian water-drinker watered watery wedded to poverty yogi yogin