ring false

idiom

: to sound false
Her explanation rang false.

Examples of ring false in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But skipping past that tragedy, and Japan’s ultimate surrender to the Allies, would ring false in a show that to this point has done such an impressive job of using this specific family as avatars for everyone involved in this vast cultural and historical tale. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2024 Carriera understands that to make a small and quiet human drama land like an aneurysm nothing can ring false. Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2024 The movie spends so much time trying to reclaim her as wholesome (loves her nan, doggedly monogamous, wants children) that her transgressive streak and naughty sense of humor ring false. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 May 2024 At Thursday’s city council meeting, Lucas said apologizing to Butker would ring false when the city has yet to apologize for more harmful actions. Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 24 May 2024 Sure, the framing device, involving a P.I. (Kevin Kline) and an angel of death (Virginia Madsen), is a little contrived, and Garrison Keillor’s avuncular drawl may ring false to today’s ears. August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023 Leyla’s gentle insistence that her lifelong friend can confide in her begins to ring false, and Taroon can’t bear to have a keeper, so old habits of rebellion against a know-it-all sister may doom him. Helen Shaw, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2021 Former and current Corrections employees say these recruiting efforts are too little, too late — and ring false given the dire situation inside. Dan Harrie, The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Dec. 2022 But Kim’s attempts to out-flank Raths on the right may ring false with some voters. Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ring false.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Ring false.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ring%20false. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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