Question

Choose the word which can be substituted for the given words/sentence:
A man who starves his body for the good of the soul
a- Monk
b- Ascetic
c- Saint
d- Spiritualist

Answer 1

Hint: We use one-word substitutions to replace a phrase or group of words. ‘A man who starves his body for the good of soul’ refers to a male who malnourished his body for the betterment of his spiritual life.

Complete answer:
We use ‘ascetic’ to indicate a man who starves his body for the good of the soul.
The word, ‘ascetic’ has been derived from the Greek word- Asketes, which means monk.
We know the meaning and the origin of the word, ‘ascetic’. Now, let’s look at its usage:
Example- The ascetic man donated his belongings to the poor. Here, we can conclude that a monastic and reclusive man donated his belongings to the poor.
Let’s look at the given options-
Option a- ‘Monk’ refers to a religious man who accepts the life of poverty and obedience. Example- My brother has decided to become a monk. ‘Monk’ is different in meaning to the given sentence. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option b- ‘Ascetic’ refers to a man who practices abstention from all forms of materials. ‘Ascetic’ is similar in meaning to the given sentence. Hence, it is the correct option.
Option c- ‘Saint’ refers to a man who is considered to be holy in the Christian faith. Example- We met a saint in our church. ‘Saint’ is different in meaning to the given sentence. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
Option d- ‘Spiritualist’ refers to a person who believes in communication with the dead. Example- We decided to meet a spiritualist in order to speak to our dead grandmother. ‘Spiritualist’ is different in meaning to the given sentence. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
The correct answer is Option ‘b’.

Note:
Some other one-word substitutions for ‘a man who starves his body for the good of the soul’ are austere, abstinent, self-denying, etc.