Fictional Characters dictionary
Umbridge
or Dolores Umbridge [uhm-brij]
Who is听Umbridge?
鲍尘产谤颈诲驳别听refers to the fictional character Dolores Umbridge, a malevolent, uptight, and pink-garbed villain听in the听Harry Potter series.
Where does Umbridge come from?
Dolores Umbridge听is introduced in J.K. Rowling’s fifth Harry Potter 产辞辞办,听Order of the Phoenix听(2003), as a professor sent from the wizarding world’s governing body to oversee the magic school, Hogwarts, which she does with a tyrannical bureaucracy. The character was memorably played by Imelda Staunton in 2007 and 2010 film adaptations of the books.
Umbridge is a much-hated villain in鈥攁nd out鈥攐f the world of听Harry Potter, particularly due to her cruelty and loyalty to Lord Voldemort, the听evil antagonist of the series.听She听is characterized as controlling and sadistic, harboring an especial hatred of听magical creatures.
In ironic contrast to her personality,听鲍尘产谤颈诲驳别听is fond of wearing old-fashioned, frilly pink clothing and likes to decorate her offices with china plates featuring images of cats.
J.K. Rowling chose the name Dolores Umbridge to reflect her character. Her first name comes from the Latin word for “sorrow” or “pain,”听dolor.听Umbridge is a play on听umbrage (“offense” or “annoyance”), which comes from the Latin umbra (“shade” or “shadow”). The word usually appears in the phrase听to take umbrage.
Examples of Umbridge
Who uses Umbridge?
Outside of discussion of the character in听Harry Potter听media and fandom, references to听Umbridge most often compare her听to听other fictional characters or real people. The comparisons usually target her cruelty, though also her frumpy, pink attire, status as a professor and bureaucrat, and alliance with evil.
Online, some have taken to comparing female members of the Trump administration鈥攅specially presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway and sometimes President Trump himself鈥攖o听Dolores Umbridge.
Though they may have some qualities (including pronunciation) in common,听Umbridge the character is not be confused with the word听umbrage.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Umbridge like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Umbridge that will help our users expand their word mastery.