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
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
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
This is a coming-of-age story in which the transition from adolescence to adulthood is akin to swapping one hair shirt for another.
—Jake Cline, Washington Post, 27 May 2022
Aiden needs neither hair shirt nor whip to self-flagellate, and Simone writes of depression with a visceral ache.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 11 Nov. 2021
To toughen it up, Ford resorted to that longtime crossover hair shirt, the roof rack.
—Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 6 July 2020
Asking billions of people to don an unwashed hair shirt wouldn’t work; the solution would have to be rapid technological innovation.
—Jon Gertner, Wired, 1 Apr. 2020
Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 25 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
This is a coming-of-age story in which the transition from adolescence to adulthood is akin to swapping one hair shirt for another.
—Jake Cline, Washington Post, 27 May 2022
Aiden needs neither hair shirt nor whip to self-flagellate, and Simone writes of depression with a visceral ache.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 11 Nov. 2021
To toughen it up, Ford resorted to that longtime crossover hair shirt, the roof rack.
—Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 6 July 2020
Asking billions of people to don an unwashed hair shirt wouldn’t work; the solution would have to be rapid technological innovation.
—Jon Gertner, Wired, 1 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair shirt
Noun
-
Other research has found that living near a factory farm is positively associated with risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia, and people who live near them report higher rates of headaches, depression, anger, and respiratory symptoms, such as asthma.—
Kenny Torrella,
Vox,
23 Jan. 2025
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People with bird flu may get pink eye (conjunctivitis), a cough, a sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue and fever.—
Hatty Willmoth,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
That matters because battery life has been a thorn in the Pixel Watch’s side.—
Sheena Vasani,
The Verge,
18 Jan. 2025
-
Licensing delays at the Federal Aviation Administration have been a thorn in SpaceX's side for the last couple of years.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
With no power to fend off poultry farms, neighbors live with stench and nuisances North Carolina keeps poultry farm locations secret.—
Gavin Off,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Jan. 2025
-
Like with skateboarding, Kemp says, many leaders saw stickball as a nuisance that disrupted commerce.—
Greg Rosalsky,
NPR,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
As frustration mounts, a once-fringe idea regains traction: secession.—
Dr. Alex Gold,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
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Also Wednesday, some scientists on social media posted frustrations that the NIH had stopped approving money for research grants through its review groups, called study sections.—
Erika Edwards,
NBC News,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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That bump defrayed worries over declining iPhone sales, which not only missed LSEG estimates by the largest margin in two years but were also lower compared with a year earlier because of weakness in the Greater China market.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
31 Jan. 2025
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Last year, despite worries about overcapacity, Congress approved an expansion to Reagan airport, adding five more long-haul daily flights.—
Joann Muller,
Axios,
31 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near hair shirt
Cite this Entry
“Hair shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair%20shirt. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
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