HAIR SHIRTS Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

hair shirts

noun

plural of hair shirt

as in headaches

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair shirts

Noun

In Meta’s case, creepy video-recording incidents and privacy-light tampering have caused severe headaches for the company.

— Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
Neurological symptoms, like persistent headaches, may also warrant seeing a doctor.

— Angelica Stabile , Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of headaches

Noun

Cue an enthralling chase sequence, doubling back through those higgledy-piggledy Portland streetscapes, toward the woods — the impenetrable thickets and thorns of which magically part in her presence.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Grace Carroll gives a poignant performance as the Nightingale—borne aloft with arched back and trembling, outstretched hands by other dancers, who play thorns that pierce her breast—and Adam Elmes makes a seductively sinister Dorian Gray.

— Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of thorns

Noun

The rhetoric from Rogers and other Republicans about El-Sayed has added to those frustrations.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
In July, antigovernment protests forced the resignation of the education minister over frustrations with the examination system.

— Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of frustrations

Noun

Macomb County, Michigan Spongy moths, formerly known as gypsy moths, are an invasive insect that can damage trees and create nuisances for residents, county officials said.

— Paula Wethington, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
But coyotes, with their abundant numbers and reputation as nuisances, are not.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of nuisances

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.

Browse Nearby Words

hair shirt

hair shirts

hairsplitter

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Hair shirts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair%20shirts. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of hair shirts

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes