as in headache
something that is a source of irritation
the constant need to cut costs was a hair shirt, but one that the theater company had to live with
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Recent Examples of hair shirt
Four years later, an America-first cultural crackdown has freed the Met to cast off the hair shirt of reckoning and celebrate its diverse holdings in a spirit of defiance.
—
Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
In an area that used to produce influential Catholic churchmen the way the Dodgers churned out Rookies of the Year, Gomez has amounted to the living equivalent of a hair shirt: a mode of piety that serves no one but the wearer.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Erin Maglaque’s review of a new book on women and sound in Renaissance Italy peels back the layers of a less-talked about form of religious asceticism and control, one where there are no hair shirts or decade-long fasts, just… silence.
—Michelle Weber, Longreads, 15 Nov. 2024
Talking about wedding vows was like donning a hair shirt.
—Leslie Jamison, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
The novel aesthetic of Art Nouveau wrapped modernism in the garb of pleasure, instead of in the hair shirt of social obligation and moral uplift.
—Regina Cole, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2023
Few people’s utopia involves wearing a hair shirt and giving up culinary pleasures; utopia and sacrifice are, for many, antonyms.
—Jan Dutkiewicz, The New Republic, 20 Oct. 2022
Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
In an area that used to produce influential Catholic churchmen the way the Dodgers churned out Rookies of the Year, Gomez has amounted to the living equivalent of a hair shirt: a mode of piety that serves no one but the wearer.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Erin Maglaque’s review of a new book on women and sound in Renaissance Italy peels back the layers of a less-talked about form of religious asceticism and control, one where there are no hair shirts or decade-long fasts, just… silence.
—Michelle Weber, Longreads, 15 Nov. 2024
Talking about wedding vows was like donning a hair shirt.
—Leslie Jamison, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
The novel aesthetic of Art Nouveau wrapped modernism in the garb of pleasure, instead of in the hair shirt of social obligation and moral uplift.
—Regina Cole, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2023
Few people’s utopia involves wearing a hair shirt and giving up culinary pleasures; utopia and sacrifice are, for many, antonyms.
—Jan Dutkiewicz, The New Republic, 20 Oct. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair shirt
Noun
-
Finn was experiencing headaches and nausea, which led to an emergency room visit and a sudden diagnosis.—
Jori Parys,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Symptoms can include fever, headache, facial swelling, malaise and swelling of the salivary glands.—
Caelyn Pender,
Mercury News,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Burchett, along with Mace, Luna, and other conservative Republicans, is frequently a thorn in the side of congressional leadership and sees the panel as a platform for their legislative priorities.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Feb. 2026
-
So that was the rose, here's the thorn.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
For long, chip designers have viewed moving ions as a nuisance.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The lawsuit asks the Ingham County Circuit Court to declare Kalshi's internet sports betting operation a common law nuisance and to issue a permanent injunction and order of abatement enjoining and restraining Kalshi from engaging in or advertising its internet sports betting operation in Michigan.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There was a crisp new poster on the easel at the Werth practice facility that displayed the Big East Tournament trophy, not yet mauled in frustration and held together by tape like the regular-season version had been.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
10 Mar. 2026
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The cost of parking, and parking tickets, has long been a frustration for state workers who commute to downtown Sacramento.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Let some quiet music gently soothe your senses while worries drift away.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
One activist said the group is aware of the concerns, as well as worries about noise complaints, but counter that with the changing tactics of ICE agents in their communities, residents are also looking for new, flexible, grassroots ways to alert people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hair shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair%20shirt. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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