short shrift

See synonyms for short shrift on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. little attention or consideration in dealing with a person or matter: She'll give short shrift to such a weak argument.

  2. a brief time for confession or absolution given to a condemned prisoner before their execution.

Origin of short shrift

1
First recorded in 1585–95

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use short shrift in a sentence

  • She appears to have Irish virtue in excess, and I expect the larky would get short shrift from her.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • A joint commission drew up a well-considered plan, but in the face of a presidential election the Senate gave it short shrift.

    The Canadian Dominion | Oscar D. Skelton
  • As she came back Julia heard Val in the hall dismissing poor Emmie and her piano key with short shrift.

    The Open Question | Elizabeth Robins
  • Certain it is she brought her wounded brother safe home to England, and prisoners in that war usually had short shrift.

  • I would give life-interest in rotten house property short shrift by burning the festering places.

    London's Underworld | Thomas Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for short shrift

short shrift

noun
  1. brief and unsympathetic treatment

  2. (formerly) a brief period allowed to a condemned prisoner to make confession

  1. make short shrift of to dispose of quickly and unsympathetically

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012