Meaning
Out of favour, discredited or under suspicion, especially of wrongdoing that may be unproven: 'he resigned under a cloud of expense irregularities'. It suggests damaged reputation rather than proven guilt, and is frequently strengthened as 'under a cloud of suspicion'. Slightly formal, journalistic register with a negative, reputation-focused connotation. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The idiom is an application of the ancient metaphor of a cloud as something that darkens, obscures or casts a shadow. Etymonline records the figurative sense of 'cloud' from c. 1300 ('as something that obscures, darkens, threatens, or casts a shadow') and dates the resulting phrase 'under a cloud' to c. 1500. A word-history survey of early occurrences finds the suspicious-disgrace sense attested in English by 1605, alongside figurative cloud imagery in Spenser and Milton. No anecdotal origin story circulates for this one; it is simply a durable metaphor from the language of clouds overshadowing a person or their reputation.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- A cloud over someone
- Be under a cloud
- Leave under a cloud
- Under a cloud of suspicion
Usage Examples
- She left the brokerage under a cloud after the compliance review, though charges were never brought.
- The village remained under a cloud of suspicion until the real culprit confessed.
- Two failed product launches have left the brand under something of a cloud with investors.