as in narrow
showing little difference in the standing of the competitors
a hairbreadth victory, but a victory nevertheless
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
variants
or hairsbreadth
as in inch
a very small distance or degree
just missed the bull's-eye by a hairbreadth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hairbreadth
Andrew Cockburn,
Harper’s Magazine ,
20 July 2022
That mad quest for immortality is only one thread in an intricate narrative that encompasses witchcraft, impossible transformations, hairbreadth escapes, killer clowns and an assortment of innovative murders.
—
Washington Post,
28 Nov. 2021
Nancy Pelosi will have a hairbreadth four-vote majority in the House with two seats still undecided.
—
Walter Shapiro,
The New Republic,
17 Dec. 2020
The hairbreadth outcome in the race belied its sweeping consequences.
—
Author: Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin,
Anchorage Daily News,
14 Mar. 2018
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Should the electoral officials’ math hold up, the hairbreadth victory is likely to provide only limited comfort to Mr. del Mazo’s party.
—
Kirk Semple and Marina Franco,
New York Times,
4 June 2017
The year closed with the hairbreadth victory of a law-and-order Presidential nominee whose Southern strategy of racial politicking remade the electoral map.
—
Jelani Cobb,
The New Yorker,
9 Jan. 2017
Adjective
In the end, Cuellar and his corporate backers carried the day (one marked also by the Uvalde school massacre), albeit by a hairbreadth margin.
—
Andrew Cockburn,
Harper’s Magazine ,
20 July 2022
That mad quest for immortality is only one thread in an intricate narrative that encompasses witchcraft, impossible transformations, hairbreadth escapes, killer clowns and an assortment of innovative murders.
—
Washington Post,
28 Nov. 2021
Nancy Pelosi will have a hairbreadth four-vote majority in the House with two seats still undecided.
—
Walter Shapiro,
The New Republic,
17 Dec. 2020
The hairbreadth outcome in the race belied its sweeping consequences.
—
Author: Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin,
Anchorage Daily News,
14 Mar. 2018
Noun
Such was not completely unexpected, for Comet MAPS was a Kreutz sungrazer, a type of comet that comes literally within a hairbreadth of the sun.
—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Should the electoral officials’ math hold up, the hairbreadth victory is likely to provide only limited comfort to Mr. del Mazo’s party.
—
Kirk Semple and Marina Franco,
New York Times,
4 June 2017
The year closed with the hairbreadth victory of a law-and-order Presidential nominee whose Southern strategy of racial politicking remade the electoral map.
—
Jelani Cobb,
The New Yorker,
9 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hairbreadth
Adjective
-
The narrow 3-2 decision was made at a meeting early Friday morning, the third and final such vote on a data center moratorium.
-
Group 1 is pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare and severe version that occurs when blood vessels in the lungs narrow and stiffen.
Noun
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The child was described as 18 inches long, approximately 20 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
-
A little over a tenth of an inch of rain is likely.
Adjective
-
With the wrap in front of you, fold up the edge closest to you.
-
Because wells in the region are large and close to one another, restarting production will require significant coordination across companies and countries to ensure consistent pressure across multiple wells.
Noun
-
The hotel stands just steps from the historic French Quarter, undoubtedly one of the first stops on any traveler’s itinerary.
-
But the increasing tanker traffic is an encouraging step toward normalization of global oil flows.
Cite this Entry
“Hairbreadth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hairbreadth. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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