Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

shrift

American  
[shrift] / ʃrɪft /

noun

Archaic.

  1. the imposition of penance by a priest on a penitent after confession.

  2. absolution or remission of sins granted after confession and penance.

  3. confession to a priest.

shrift British  
/ ʃrɪft /

noun

  1. archaic the act or an instance of shriving or being shriven See also short shrift

"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
shrift Idioms  

  1. see short shrift.

Etymology

Origin of shrift

before 900; Middle English; Old English scrift penance; cognate with German, Dutch schrift writing; shrive, -th 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.