- Home
- Idioms
- umbrage
umbrage
take umbrage at something
to feel that one has been insulted by something. The employee took umbrage at not getting a raise. Mary took umbrage at the suggestion that she was being unreasonable.
take umbrage at something
(slightly formal) to feel insulted by something someone has said or done The mayor took umbrage at the suggestion that the new park was not well designed.
take umbrage
(formal) to become upset and angry about something someone has said or done (often + at ) He took great umbrage at newspaper reviews of his book. The minister took umbrage when colleagues queried her budget plans.
take umbrage
Feel resentment, take offense, as in Aunt Agatha is quick to take umbrage at any suggestion to do things differently. This expression features one of the rare surviving uses of umbrage, which now means "resentment" but comes from the Latin umbra, for "shade," and presumably alludes to the "shadow" of displeasure. [Late 1600s]