take umbrage (“with” or “to”)
verb phrase (formal)



-  feel resentment, take offense

- if you say that a person takes umbrage, you mean that they are upset or offended by something that someone says or does to them, often without much reason

Dictionary dot com / Collins Dictionary


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WORD ORIGIN

The etymology of this expression is really interesting. "Umbrage" comes from the Latin word umbraticum, meaning "of, or pertaining to, shade", and directly from umbra, meaning "shade, shadow". The French adopted this word as ombrage, which then entered the English language in the 15th century as "umbrage".

The connection between "shade" and "resentment" or "offense" seems to have evolved metaphorically. Shade could be seen as something that obscures or diminishes, thus "taking umbrage" initially meant feeling overshadowed or slighted by someone or something. Over time, the phrase became more broadly associated with feeling offended, irritated, or annoyed.

So, when someone "takes umbrage", they are essentially feeling overshadowed or offended, as if a shadow has been cast over their reputation or feelings.

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CAUTION: AVOID “NO-NO WORDS” !!

During discussions and presentations different people are attracted or repelled by certain words or phrases. In the list of linguistic irritations we’ve heard mention “low hanging fruit”, “one-size fits-all”, “think out-of-the-box”, “a win-win situation”, “when all is said and done”,… all worth avoiding when engaging with those who are allergic to such expressions.

Personally, I dislike hearing the word “normally” when I ask about performance or delivery times, e.g. “The appliance normally works without problems after installation" or “We can normally deliver within 14-days". "Normally" makes me uncomfortable because it suggests doubt.

For my partner Helga, the injunction “You should”, or worse, “You must” (consider or do something) are bright red flags, and usually result in serious consideration of the opposite :-)

We both shudder to hear the introductory phrase “To be honest…” or “Frankly speaking…” after all, isn’t the speaker ALWAYS honest or frank? Why only in this case?

What words or phrases do you take umbrage to? Drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you.

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SYNONYMS



acrimony, anger, animosity, annoyance, antagonism, cat fit, chagrin, choler, dander, disapprobation, displeasure, distemper, enmity, exasperation, fury, gall, hatred, having kittens, high dudgeon, huff, ill humor (temper), impatience, indignation, infuriation, irascibility, ire, irking, irritability, irritation, mad, miff, nettling, outrage, peevishness, pique, rage, rankling, resentment, slow burn, sore, stew, tantrum, temper, tiff, UMBRAGE, vexation, wrath


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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Before we start our discussion, could you share some irritating No-No-words you TAKE UMBRAGE to, and I’ll try to avoid them?”

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