Literary notes about umbrageous (AI summary)
The word "umbrageous" is most often used by authors to evoke richly shaded, leafy imagery that enhances both natural landscapes and atmospheric moods. It typically describes the broadly spreading, protective canopies of trees or groves that offer cool respite and shelter, as seen in passages like those where elms and poplars form lush overhangs [1], [2], [3], and even in settings that frame grand vistas [4]. In some contexts, however, the term takes on a more figurative role, hinting at gloomy or prideful inner states—as when a character's wounded vanity is described as umbrageous [5]—demonstrating its versatility in bridging the literal with the metaphorical. This dual usage enriches literary descriptions by merging the tangible qualities of nature with subtle emotional or symbolic nuances.
- Walking up the path under the umbrageous shelter of the elms, Mulligan saw the colours of the flowers in neutral tints under a faint starry sky.
— from The White Room by Fergus Hume - The tall, columnar poplars, the wavy, tremulous aspens, the umbrageous elms, are large of girth, stately of height, and broad of shade.
— from In Bad Company, and other stories by Rolf Boldrewood - He put the roses in his breast and they walked on for a little while, slowly and silently, under the umbrageous trees.
— from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens - In the midst of the house, with the sky overhead, the umbrageous palm tree and banana spread their broad leaves.
— from Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 15, No. 88, April, 1875 by Various - It hurt his umbrageous vanity to think that he might seem incapable of doing without her.
— from Jean-Christophe in Paris: The Market-Place, Antoinette, the House by Romain Rolland
