flagellantisms
/ˈflædʒələntɪzəmz/
noun
- Practices or beliefs involving extreme self-punishment or self-denial, especially for religious reasons.
- Some modern flagellantisms focus on extreme fasting and sleep deprivation.
- The medieval flagellantisms involved public whippings as a form of penance.
- Historians study flagellantisms to understand how people sought spiritual purification through suffering.
Synonyms