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The Latin word umbra ("shade, shadow") has given English a range of words in addition to umbra itself. An umbrella can provide us with shade from the sun. So can an umbrageous tree. (In this case, umbrageous means "affording shade.") The connection to shade or shadow in other umbra words is less obvious. When we say someone takes umbrage, we mean they take offense, but in times past people used the word as a synonym of shade or shadow. These two senses of umbrage influenced umbrageous, which can mean "inclined to take offense easily" as well as "affording shade."
Examples of umbra in a Sentence
Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
During the event, the moon moves through Earth's umbra, the dark center of its shadow.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The umbra is a darker inner shadow and the penumbra is a fainter outer shadow, according to NASA.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
During a total lunar eclipse, the moon passes through the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra.
—Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for umbra
Cite this Entry
“Umbra.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umbra. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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