Question:easy

Choose the word or phrase that is equivalent in meaning to the given phrase:

Under a cloud

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The "cloud" here is figurative, not weather. What shadow hangs over a person others no longer trust?
Updated On: Jul 21, 2026
  • in the shade
  • wet
  • suspected of wrong doing
  • hopeful
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The idiom "under a cloud" describes a person who has fallen into disgrace or is regarded with distrust because of something they are thought to have done. The image is of a dark cloud of suspicion following them around, so the meaning is entirely about being doubted, not about real clouds or shade.

  • suspected of wrong doing is correct because it captures the sense of being distrusted and thought guilty of misconduct.
  • in the shade is wrong as it reads the cloud literally as shelter from the sun.
  • wet is wrong because it wrongly connects the cloud to rainfall instead of to disgrace.
  • hopeful is wrong since the phrase carries a bleak, negative feeling that is the reverse of hopefulness.

So the correct meaning is suspected of wrong doing, option c.

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