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
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However, the ink was barely dry when new revelations emerged last week that pose a fresh headache for Cannon.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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Authorities said Koc and Alshmari attacked the victim, causing a split lip and headaches.—
Madeline Bartos,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Odor is a botanical defense mechanism as much as thistles and thorns.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
21 Mar. 2026
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The spirit of the endeavor can forgive a lot, with some clumsy filmmaking that doesn’t seem to be an intentional homage, such as a slapdash set-up to Helen’s murderous ways and a slightly tacked-on feeling opening involving a film critic who has been a thorn in Jack’s side.—
Stephen Saito,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The pests have been a nuisance in the foothills for years.—
Nicole Comstock,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Some customers found Buc-ees pay-at-the-pump policy to be a minor nuisance.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American Statesman,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But Apple shut down Dark Sky in 2023, prompting an online outcry, and Grossman eventually left out of frustration with Apple’s sluggish corporate schedule of annual software updates.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
25 Mar. 2026
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Luz Diaz Luz Diaz took her frustration to Hackensack City Hall on Tuesday evening.—
Adi Guajardo,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At war while worries about jobs and household costs linger, his approval is down.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
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Another worry is whether residential and small-business customers will see their bills go up to help cover the costs of the new power needed.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hair shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair%20shirt. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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