short shrift
nounDefinition of short shrift
1 : barely adequate time for confession before execution
2a : little or no attention or consideration gave the problem short shrift
b : quick work —usually used in the phrase make short shrift of
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Examples of short shrift in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Vietnam War, the explosion of white backlash and ghetto violence, and the fitful collapse of the New Deal coalition receive extremely short shrift. — Sean Wilentz, New York Times, "A Battle for the ‘Soul of America’? It’s as Old as America, One Historian Notes," 21 May 2018 Stoltenberg has strived to maintain good relations with Trump, but his calm demeanor at a news conference at day’s end could not dispel the palpable tension caused by an American president who gives short shrift to longtime alliances. — Eli Stokols, latimes.com, "Trump disrupts NATO summit with blasts at allies, especially Germany, and new defense spending demands," 11 July 2018 The couplings are uncovering some hard truths about rights and sexuality in Russia, where women are often given short shrift. — Amie Ferris-rotman, Washington Post, "At World Cup, Russians embrace the world, one relationship at a time," 9 July 2018 How dare anyone suggest that Texas, which until 2013 had to seek permission from the Department of Justice to move forward with any changes to its voting procedures, would attempt to short shrift minority voters. — Cristian Farias, Daily Intelligencer, "The Supreme Court Continues to Chip Away at Protections for Minority Voters," 25 June 2018 The controversies over sweatshop conditions in some of Nike’s factories, for instance, are hardly given short shrift. — Will Leitch, WSJ, "‘Kicks’ Review: It’s Gotta Be the Shoes," 21 June 2018 Such characters often got short shrift in the theater, but not here. — Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, "'Lettie' at Victory Gardens: A mother's years lost to prison are years she can't get back," 17 Apr. 2018 Walker has given short shrift to Democratic opposition to the tax cuts. — Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Postcards promoting tax rebate cost state $128,000," 22 May 2018 Chargers will take a quarterback This annual narrative got short shrift, deservedly so, in most forecasts. — Tom Krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "NFL Draft separated fact from predraft fiction," 4 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'short shrift.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
'Short Shrift' or 'Short Shift'?
'Short Shrift' or 'Short Shift'?
And can it also be long?
Dictionary Entries near short shrift
Statistics for short shrift
Last Updated
17 Aug 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for short shrift
The first known use of short shrift was in 1594
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