hairshirt
Scratchy penance wear
A hairshirt is a coarse garment made of rough animal hair, worn against the skin as a form of religious penance or self-mortification.
The discomfort served as a reminder of sin or a path to spiritual discipline.
Figuratively, a hairshirt is any self-imposed burden or austerity: Refusing all pleasure became her hairshirt.
To wear a hairshirt is to punish oneself unnecessarily or embrace suffering as virtue.
Coarse fabric for penance
undergarment · shirt · tunic · habit · vestment · cassock · robe · cloth
Self-mortification for wrongdoing
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- self-flagellationDeliberately striking one's own body
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
repentance · expiation · self-punishment · discipline · confession · absolution · remorse · guilt
Cloistered religious living
- monkCloistered religious devotee
- nunHebrew alphabet's fourteenth
- hermitPerson choosing total seclusion
- recluseOne choosing isolation
fasting · celibacy · abstinence · renunciation · self-denial · austerity · frugality · simplicity
Provoking scratching urges
- scratchyRough and irritating
- pricklySpiny or irritable
- chafingIrritation from friction
- irritationMild anger or inflammation
roughness · coarseness · abrasion · rawness · stinging · discomfort · suffering · torment
Voluntarily placed upon oneself
- burdenOppressive weight or duty
- punishmentPenalty for an offense
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
sackcloth
Coarse fabric for penance
goat hair · undergarment · shirt · tunic · habit · vestment · cassock · robe · cloth · fabric
penance
Self-mortification for wrongdoing
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- self-flagellationDeliberately striking one's own body
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
contrition · repentance · expiation · self-punishment · discipline · confession · absolution · remorse · guilt · purification
monasticism
Cloistered religious living
- monkCloistered religious devotee
- nunHebrew alphabet's fourteenth
- hermitPerson choosing total seclusion
recluse · fasting · celibacy · abstinence · renunciation · self-denial · austerity · frugality · simplicity · spartan
itchy
Provoking scratching urges
irritation · roughness · coarseness · abrasion · rawness · stinging · discomfort · suffering · torment · agony
self-imposed
Voluntarily placed upon oneself
- burdenOppressive weight or duty
- punishmentPenalty for an offense
- guiltMoral self-reproach
hairshirtsilk robe
Loose garment of fine fabric
loungewear · fleece · featherbed · down comforter · cashmere
hairshirthedonism
Pursuit of gratification
self-indulgence · decadence · sybaritism · luxury · epicureanism
hairshirtself-care
Maintaining personal wellbeing
self-love · self-forgiveness · self-compassion · guiltlessness · self-acceptance
hairy, haircut, hairstyle, hairs, hairstylist, hairstyling, hairiness, hairsplitting, hairsplitter