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Umbrage is a word born in the shadows. Its ultimate source (and that of umbrella) is Latin umbra, meaning “shade, shadow,” and when it was first used in the 15th century it referred to exactly that. But figurative use followed relatively quickly. Shakespeare wrote of Hamlet that "his semblable is his mirror, and who else would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more,” and by the 17th century this meaning of “vague suggestion; hint,” had been joined by other uses, including the “feeling of resentment or offense” heard today in such sentences as “many took umbrage at the speaker’s tasteless jokes.” The word’s early literal use is not often encountered, though it does live on in literature: for example, in her 1849 novel, Charlotte Brontë describes how the titular Shirley would relax “at the foot of some tree of friendly umbrage.”
Examples of umbrage in a Sentence
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2025
When Vice-President Kamala Harris stopped by Call Her Daddy as part of her campaign trail over the weekend, critics took predictable umbrage.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024
The 25-year-old Olympic gold medalist appears to have taken umbrage with that designation and internalized the criticism during the Pacers' playoff push.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
Fozzie Bear explained bear markets and Miss Piggy took umbrage at Ted Koppel’s commodities question about pork bellies.
—Bill Prady, Variety, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for umbrage
Cite this Entry
“Umbrage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umbrage. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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umbrage
noun
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