HAIR SHIRT Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

hair shirt

noun

Definition of hair shirt

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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 And that gave birth to the worst Wolverine, which also gave birth to the idea that the suit is a hair shirt. — Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2024 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 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

The usual symptoms include high fever, headache, stiffness and an overall feeling that resembles the flu.

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026
Budget cuts The unrest is adding to a major political headache for the government, which is about to start tough budget negotiations against a backdrop of division and economic turmoil.

— Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of headache

Noun

More recently, Hannah Hidalgo has been a thorn in the Huskies’ sides, though UConn got past ND in the Elite Eight last March.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026
Oil, which in recent weeks has been a thorn in the stock market's side, provided the first source of relief Monday.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of thorn

Noun

For homeowners who have spent decades building equity, failing windows are more than a nuisance.

— Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
Legal experts on the other side question the notion that a public nuisance can be defined so broadly to include both the sale of a legal product and the impact on carbon pollution, much of it coming from China and India.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of nuisance

Noun

Players slapped each other’s helmets in frustration while angry voices carried from the sideline.

— D’Joumbarey Moreau, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026
Rubin acknowledged the union’s frustrations in a response to the no-confidence vote, but said there were no funds available to increase overtime.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of frustration

Noun

The euro sank to its lowest level against the dollar since May 2025 over Spain’s snap elections added to mounting fiscal and political worries across the region.

— Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Such strong growth is what’s allowed stocks to rally near records despite a long list of worries and challenges.

— Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of worry

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hairs

hair shirt

hair shirts

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“Hair shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair%20shirt. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hair shirt

noun

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