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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
Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2025
The eclipse reaches totality as the full moon moves into the darkest part of Earth's shadow, called the umbra.
—Joe Hernandez, NPR, 11 Mar. 2025
Plan to start capturing images during the partial phase to document the moon’s transition into the Earth’s umbra, but save most of your efforts for totality.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
Viewers in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile experienced totality as the moon passed entirely within the darkest part of Earth's shadow, or umbra, so that the sun was completely blocked.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 25 Mar. 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 19 Apr. 2025.
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