renunciate
One who forsakes
A renunciate is someone who has renounced worldly pleasures, possessions, or attachments, typically for spiritual reasons.
The term appears most often in discussions of Eastern religions—Hindu sadhus, Buddhist monks, ascetics who've given up material life: The renunciate wandered from village to village with only a begging bowl.
Less commonly, renunciate serves as a verb meaning to renounce.
Person choosing total seclusion
- anchoriteReligious recluse in enclosure
- recluseOne choosing isolation
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
- austerityEnforced economic stringency
self-denial · celibacy · fasting · mortification · penance · frugality · simplicity · discipline
Abandon completely
- relinquishVoluntarily give up control
- abandonLeave behind permanently
- forswearReject under oath
- abjureSolemnly reject or recant
repudiate · disavow · disown · eschew · reject · refuse · sacrifice · abdicate
Cloistered religious devotee
- nunHebrew alphabet's fourteenth
- friarMendicant order member
- abbotMonastery's chief cleric
- prioressFemale monastic superior
abbey · cloister · convent · hermitage · novitiate · vows · habit · cowl
Profound spiritual awakening
- liberationRelease from constraint
- mokshaRelease from rebirth cycle
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
- samsaraCycle of rebirth
awakening · transcendence · dharma · karma · meditation · guru · devotion · satori
Freedom from emotional clinging
- dispassionFreedom from emotional bias
- withdrawalAct of taking away
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- equanimityUnshakable mental steadiness
solitude · disengagement · indifference · separation · release · unbinding · desirelessness · relinquishment
hermit
Person choosing total seclusion
- anchoriteReligious recluse in enclosure
- recluseOne choosing isolation
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
austerity · self-denial · celibacy · fasting · mortification · penance · frugality · simplicity · discipline · temperance
forsake
Abandon completely
- relinquishVoluntarily give up control
- abandonLeave behind permanently
- forswearReject under oath
abjure · repudiate · disavow · disown · eschew · reject · refuse · sacrifice · abdicate · worldly
monk
Cloistered religious devotee
prioress · abbey · cloister · convent · hermitage · novitiate · vows · habit · cowl · tonsure
enlightenment
Profound spiritual awakening
- liberationRelease from constraint
- mokshaRelease from rebirth cycle
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
samsara · awakening · transcendence · dharma · karma · meditation · guru · devotion · satori · samadhi
nonattachment
Freedom from emotional clinging
- dispassionFreedom from emotional bias
- withdrawalAct of taking away
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
equanimity · solitude · disengagement · indifference · separation · release · unbinding · desirelessness · relinquishment · emptying
renunciatematerialist
Values physical over spiritual
hedonist · sybarite · sensualist · voluptuary · pleasure-seeker
renunciatehouseholder
Home's primary resident
layperson · secularist · careerist · family man · bourgeois
renunciatematerialist
Values physical over spiritual
accumulator · worldling · acquirer · hoarder · consumer