Did You Know? The word shrift is an archaic noun referring to the confession or absolution of sins. These days, 'shrift' is rarely encountered on its own, but it does keep frequent company with 'short' in the phrase 'short shrift.'

Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. No Archives Categories. Shrift definition, the imposition of penance by a priest on a penitent after confession. SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shrift ON THESAURUS.

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The earliest known use of the phrase comes from William Shakespeare's play Richard III, in which Lord Hastings, who has been condemned by King Richard to be beheaded, is told by Sir Richard Ratcliffe to 'Make a short shrift' as the king 'longs to see your head.' Shakespeare uses this phrase quite literally ('keep your confession short'), but since at least the 19th century the phrase has been used figuratively to refer to a small or inadequate amount of time or attention given to something.

Recent Examples on the Web Lawmakers gave relatively short shrift to other issues. — While Kavanaugh’s role in the Starr investigation is a part of the appellate court judge’s resume that may have received short shrift during days of confirmation hearings, plenty of players from that era remain central to today’s confirmation fight.

— For the most part, Mr. Corera gives wartime pigeons short shrift. — When your schedule gets packed, eye doctor appointments may get short shrift.

— The Vietnam War, the explosion of white backlash and ghetto violence, and the fitful collapse of the New Deal coalition receive extremely short shrift. — Stoltenberg has strived to maintain good relations with Trump, but his calm demeanor at a news conference at day’s end could not dispel the palpable tension caused by an American president who gives short shrift to longtime alliances. — The couplings are uncovering some hard truths about rights and sexuality in Russia, where women are often given short shrift. — How dare anyone suggest that Texas, which until 2013 had to seek permission from the Department of Justice to move forward with any changes to its voting procedures, would attempt to short shrift minority voters.

— These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'short shrift.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

Old English scrift 'confession to priest, followed by penance and absolution,' verbal noun from scrifan 'to impose penance,' from an early Germanic borrowing of Latin scribere 'to write' (see (n.)) that produced nouns for 'penance, confession' in Old English and Scandinavian (cf. Old Norse skrjpt 'penance, confession'), but elsewhere in Germanic is used in senses 'writing, scripture, alphabet letter;' see. Short shrift originally was the brief time for a condemned criminal to confess before execution (1590s); figurative extension to 'little or no consideration' is first attested 1814.