What does umbrage mean?
Umbrage is a formal word for offense, annoyance, or indignation, especially the kind felt when someone believes they have been insulted, slighted, or unfairly criticized. Its best-known expression is 'take umbrage at,' as in 'she took umbrage at his remark.' The word has an unusual history: it originally referred to shade or shadow and could also mean shelter or protection, as in 'under the umbrage of.' Today, its older meanings are mostly literary or archaic, while the sense involving offense is dominant in ordinary modern usage. Although it can sound excessively formal, umbrage remains useful because it conveys not merely displeasure but a particular, often dignified reaction to a perceived slight. It belongs to the same Latin shadow-word family as umbra, umbral, and umbrella.
nounUmbrage means offense or indignation, especially a feeling caused by a perceived insult or slight. In older usage, it can also mean shade, shadow, or shelter.
- Offense or indignation at a perceived insult, slight, or affront.
- Shade or shadow, especially in older literary usage.
- Shelter or protection, especially in the phrase 'under the umbrage of.'
"She took umbrage at the suggestion that her proposal had been poorly considered."
"The ambassador took umbrage at the newspaper's insinuation that his country had changed its position."
"Under the umbrage of the old oak, the travelers rested during the heat of the afternoon."
The plural is possible but uncommon; the word is normally used in the singular in established expressions.
"The remarks caused umbrages among several committee members."
Once meaning 'shadow,' umbrage now survives mainly in the elevated phrase 'take umbrage,' where it means to take offense.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does umbrage come from?
Umbrage entered English in the late medieval period through French, ultimately from Latin umbra, meaning 'shadow.' Its older senses developed from the idea of shade, shelter, or the area of protection cast by something. Over time, the word came to mean offense, probably through the idea of something being thrown or cast as a shadow, and the modern phrase 'take umbrage' developed from that history.
How umbrage is actually used
Umbrage is formal and somewhat literary. The standard modern expression is 'take umbrage at' something; 'give umbrage to' someone is older and more formal. The plural is uncommon in present-day English.
Easily confused with umbrage
Umbra is a Latin-derived word for a shadow, whereas umbrage in modern English usually means offense or indignation.