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By not materialistic I mean someone who just doesn't have interest in material things for the sake of the value it would give them from their possession, but rather acquires them for their functionality or simply because they like it for them. An example of getting something for for the type of materialistic reasons I'm talking about would be... A Fancy car not solely for the purpose as means to get from point A to B, or comfort or practicality, but rather to show off). Similar to getting a nice house or a phone or watch or anything material.

It's not "spiritual" because such person can NOT be spiritual. Nor is it "ascetic" because it's effortless and comes naturally. No desire of things beyond their practical usage.

There is no "discipline" involved. No if you let yourself go, and became lax, you'd fall back to materialism. The word I'm looking for would describe a person to be not materialistic by nature. Whether they let themselves go or not, it would be unnatural for them to be materialistic. No disciple required. Just no desire to attain material things as a tool to increase their self worth by way of using those goods to gain recognition.

As an anology, if they were offered a Rolls Royce or a 1989 Chevy Caprice (but they can't sell the car they choose or give it away), they'd choose the Chevy Caprice simply because they like it more.

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    You must check your spelling: "siine" probably can't be guessed by too many people; I can't figure out what that word is. Also "A to B" not "A or B".
    – LPH
    Commented Apr 20, 2021 at 22:24
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    Perhaps pragmatic or even utilitarian, but you may need context to weed out the stray notions of being unethical or cold.
    – Lawrence
    Commented Apr 20, 2021 at 23:36
  • Maybe economical?
    – piccolo
    Commented Apr 21, 2021 at 0:01
  • frugal or thrifty emphasis lack of extravagance or worldly possessions, but may not fit if you mean someone who'll spend as much as it costs to get something that works but not go beyond that. Unmaterialistic is probably the most directly relevant word, but a bit dreary.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Apr 21, 2021 at 7:49
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    The options provided in Benjamin Harman's answer are a bit unfit due to their connotations implying discipline being involved (not sure if non-materialistic has those connotations), but I think they may be the best you have. If you were to find a word that doesn't have connotations of discipline, it'd probably be a very obscure word, which diminishes its descriptiveness. You might be better off picking the most connotatively neutral word (which is think is non-materialistic), and supplementing with naturally, by nature, or something along those lines.
    – A. Kvåle
    Commented Apr 21, 2021 at 15:50

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Because you mention "spiritual" and "ascetic," it appears you're looking for an adjective describing a person as not materialistic, not a noun to call someone who is not materialistic. That being the case, I'd use "austere," "spartan," "minimalist," "abstemious," or, failing any of those, simply "nonmaterialistic."

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  • Thank you! All those adjectives suggest that there is "discipline" involved. That if you let yourself go, and became lax, you'd fall back to materialism. The word I'm looking for would describe a person to be not materialistic by nature. Whether they let themselves go or not, it would be unnatural for them to be materialistic. No disciple required. Just no desire to attain material things as a tool to increase their self worth by way of using those goods to gain recognition.
    – JJrussel
    Commented Apr 21, 2021 at 15:14
  • As an (extreme) anology, if they were offered a brand new Rolls Royce vs a 1988 Chevy Caprice (but they couldn't sell or give them away), they'd choose the Chevy Caprice (which costs 150 times less) simply because they like it more.
    – JJrussel
    Commented Apr 21, 2021 at 15:17
  • Whether they let themselves go or not, it would be unnatural for them to be materialistic. Seems like the adjective you're looking for is alien.
    – A. Kvåle
    Commented Apr 21, 2021 at 15:43
  • @A. Kvåle LOL in today's world, I very much share believe that that would be the right adjective as well! 😂
    – JJrussel
    Commented Apr 22, 2021 at 9:27

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