Make Your Point > Archived Issues > UMBRAGE
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Our word umbrage looks a bit like umbrella, penumbra, and adumbrate because they all trace back to the Latin word for "shade" or "shadow."
As I mentioned back when we checked out adumbrate, when you take umbrage at something, you're irked by it: you feel offended, angry, and annoyed. Stick with me: the word umbrage once meant "a literal shadow," then "a shadow of doubt cast on someone," and from there it came to mean "a feeling of offense."
Word meanings change over time like this--a lot--with some of us trying to stand firm against those changes. I like to imagine the grouchy professors of 1660 yelling at their students: "No! Umbrage means 'shadows cast by leaves of trees!' Not 'a feeling of outrage!' Ten points from Gryffindor!"
Hey, speaking of Gryffindor, see if all you Harry Potter fans can explain why Dolores Umbridge had a perfect name, and why Remus Lupin and Ronald Bilius Weasley did, too.
make your point with...
"UMBRAGE"
Umbrage is a feeling of being annoyed, offended, and/or angry.
Pronunciation:
UM bridge
Part of speech:
Noun, the uncountable kind: "he took umbrage at her remark," "she channels her umbrage into her art."
Other forms:
umbrageous, umbrageously, umbrageousness
How to use it:
This word is formal and serious.
Talk about someone taking umbrage, usually at (or with) whatever thing seemed offensive or insulting: "He took umbrage at her silent disregard."
Or, talk about someone's umbrage, or about umbrage in general: "Tasteless tweets unite us in our umbrage."
The extent or intensity of umbrage, like any emotion, varies from person to person, so we can talk about people who take great umbrage, slight umbrage, instant umbrage, eventual umbrage, etc. When someone replies to your email and misspells your name--even though the correct spelling is right in front of them--you might laugh it off, or you might take umbrage immediately. Or when someone introduces you to a large crowd and mispronounces your name--even though they were trained on the correct pronunciation--you might take umbrage, or you might take petty revenge seven years later.
examples:
I'm pretty secure about my age. I don't take umbrage at being carded or at not being carded, at being called "Missy" or at being called "Ma'am."
"Yet for all his dark accusations, Karzai, who speaks cultured and flawless English, can be diplomatic and charmingly self-aware. He veers unexpectedly from dignified umbrage to chortling glee."
— Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 14 February 2018
has this page helped you understand "umbrage"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "umbrage" without saying "chagrin" or "resentment."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "Understandably, some (type of people) take umbrage when (somebody does something)."
Example: "Understandably, some medical professionals take umbrage when patients credit only God for their survival."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is Distinctive Definitions.
We're taking a scenic slog through poetic and philosophical definitions, wading through similes, metaphors, personifications, hyperboles, grandiloquence, and cheesiness.
In each issue, consider a definition provided by a poet, a writer, or a philosopher, and see if you can name the definiendum: the thing or concept being defined. (Is it life, love, time, death, music, sleep, pain, laughter, bubblegum, stubbing your toe…???) For example, James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) said, "What men call ________ and the Gods call dross." He’s defining something—what is it? "Treasure."
Now, you can play this game in earnest, trying to think of what the poet actually wrote--or you can play it for laughs, supplying the silliest or most sarcastic answer you can muster.
To take the silliness to the next level, gather your friends or family, deal each person a hand of cards from your copy of Apples to Apples (great for kids) or Cards Against Humanity (not for kids!!), and enjoy the ensuing hilarity. (In these games, players take turns being the judge for each round, picking the funniest from everyone’s submissions.) "What men call stretch limos and the Gods call dross." "What men call Morgan Freeman's voice and the Gods call dross."
From the previous issue:
Aristotle (384-322 BC) said, "_____ is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity."
Answer: Education.
Try this one today:
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) said, "Blessing on him who invented _____,—the mantle that covers all human thoughts, the food that appeases hunger, the drink that quenches thirst, the fire that warms cold, the cold that moderates heat, and, lastly, the general coin that purchases all things, the balance and weight that equals the shepherd with the king, and the simple with the wise."
review this word:
1. An opposite of UMBRAGE is
A. JOY.
B. LUCK.
C. SUNSHINE.
2. There's no need to take umbrage at _____.
A. this game; it's simple enough for children to play
B. their tattoos; if you're irked by them, don't look at them
C. the conclusion of the movie; if you're moved to cry, then cry
a final word:
Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From Liesl's blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Our word umbrage looks a bit like umbrella, penumbra, and adumbrate because they all trace back to the Latin word for "shade" or "shadow."
"UMBRAGE" Umbrage is a feeling of being annoyed, offended, and/or angry.
I'm pretty secure about my age. I don't take umbrage at being carded or at not being carded, at being called "Missy" or at being called "Ma'am."
Explain the meaning of "umbrage" without saying "chagrin" or "resentment."
Fill in the blanks: "Understandably, some (type of people) take umbrage when (somebody does something)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. An opposite of UMBRAGE is
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