dry fasting
/draɪ ˈfɑː.stɪŋ/
UncommonA fast where no food or water is consumed for a set period.
Dry fasting communities use terms like 'soft dry fast' (no ingesting but showering is allowed) and 'hard dry fast' (no contact with water at all). The distinction is taken seriously internally.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 24 hour dry fast complete. never felt thirst like that before | A one-day dry fast ended and the thirst was intense. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | dry fasting is just water fasting with extra suffering | Skeptical take comparing dry fasting to its better-known counterpart. | |
| 03 | soft dry fast for ramadan. hard dry fast sounds actually medically unhinged | Religious dry fasting is a soft version; the hard version is seen as extreme. | x, 2024 |
| 04 | the dry fasting community believes 1 day dry = 3 days water fasting. not sure that's science | Noting a community belief that lacks scientific backing. |
Use it when
- Describing a complete abstinence from all food and liquid.
- Referring to the specific practice within extreme fasting communities.
Do not use it when
- You mean fasting where water is allowed.Use “water-fasting” instead.
- You mean time-restricted eating.Use “intermittent-fasting” instead.
Dry fasting vs water fasting
dry fasting
Dry fasting eliminates all food and all liquid including water.
VS
water-fasting
Water fasting eliminates food but allows unlimited water.
Origin and context
Has roots in religious fasting traditions like Ramadan and Yom Kippur. As a wellness practice separate from religion, it emerged in fringe online fasting communities in the mid-2010s and remains niche.
- First seen
- mid-2010s
- Confidence
- low
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/dry-fastingUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0