false alarm

noun

A warning signal (such as the call of sentry, the ringing of a bell, or the shriek of a siren) which turns out to have been given erroneously.

Opposite
real deal
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Meanings

nounfalse alarm (plural false alarms)

plural false alarms

  1. literalA warning signal (such as the call of sentry, the ringing of a bell, or the shriek of a siren) which turns out to have been given erroneously.

    Pistorius explained that a security alarm in his house had gone off the previous night, and that he had taken a gun downstairs to investigate what turned out to be a false alarm.

    2013 February 25, David Epstein, “Pistorius: The Man, The Myth”, in Sports Illustrated, retrieved 18 Apr 2015
    1 more example

    "Then, if they rise, shout the alarm at the top of your voice [...] but be careful not to rouse the camp by a false alarm, for if you do, instead of gaining credit we shall become the jest of the whole force."

    1895, G. A. Henty, chapter 9, in Wulf the Saxon
  2. broadlyidiomaticA thing or occurrence which initially causes fear, distress, etc. but which is subsequently recognized as being no cause for concern.

    "This may be a false alarm, or a forged letter," said De Bracy.

    1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter XIII, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 265
    3 more examples

    The terrible announcement that the baby had been taken in the act of putting a doll's frying-pan into his mouth, and was more than suspected of having swallowed a fictitious turkey, glued on a wooden platter! The immense relief of finding this a false alarm!

    1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 70

    Cuthbert had often been summoned to her dying bed, only to find that she was alive and well. He expected that this summons would be another false alarm.

    1905, Fergus Hume, chapter 6, in The Secret Passage

    Robert Swanson [...] expected civilization to melt down on Jan. 1, 2000 [...] He's not sure yet that Y2K was a false alarm.

    2000 January 9, “A Night To Remember”, in Newsweek, retrieved 18 Apr 2015
  3. archaicidiomaticA person who pretends to be more accomplished or a thing that seems to be of higher quality than is later found to be the case.

    "He's an old false alarm, anyway. I'll bet he never heard a real gun go off!"

    1912, G. Harvey Ralphson, chapter 2, in Boy Scouts in a Submarine
    3 more examples

    "I don't believe you're a bank robber, at all! I don't believe you are even a rustler! You're a false alarm!"

    1911, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 22, in Mavericks

    "I had a good job, putting in a power plant for his nibs"—he indicated the retreating Gordon with a disrespectful jerk of the thumb—"but I quit [...] Do you think I'd work for this four-flusher if you were in the country?" [...] "You think Gordon is a false alarm?"

    1913, Rex Ellingwood Beach, chapter 5, in The Iron Trail

    "I only came over here to see that darned false alarm of a play of mine put on."

    1921, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 4, in Jill the Reckless

    Antonyms: real deal

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA person who pretends to be more accomplished or a thing that seems to be of higher quality than is later found to be the case.

Opposite
real deal
Also see
false positive

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 虛驚 /虚惊, 誤警 /误警
  • 虛驚 /虚惊 (xūjīng)warning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • 誤警 /误警 (wùjǐng)warning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • 假警報 /假警报 (jiǎjǐngbào)warning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • 虛驚 /虚惊 (xūjīng)thing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
  • 誤警 /误警 (wùjǐng)thing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Czech planý poplach, planý poplach
  • planý poplachwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • planý poplachthing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
  • falešný poplachthing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Dutch vals alarm
  • vals alarmwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
Finnish väärä hälytys, väärä hälytys
  • väärä hälytyswarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • väärä hälytysthing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
French fausse alarme, fausse alerte
  • fausse alarmewarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • fausse alertewarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • fausse alarmething or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
German Fehlalarm, Falschmeldung
  • Fehlalarmwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • Falschmeldungwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • Fehlalarmthing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Hungarian téves riasztás, hamis riasztás
  • téves riasztáswarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • hamis riasztáswarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • vakriasztáswarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • vaklármathing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Indonesian alarm palsu
  • alarm palsuwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
Italian falso allarme
  • falso allarmewarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
Japanese 虚報, 虚報
  • 虚報 (kyohō)warning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • 虚報 (kyohō)thing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Polish fałszywy alarm, fałszywy alarm
  • fałszywy alarmwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • fałszywy alarmthing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Romanian alarmă falsă, alarmă falsă
  • alarmă falsăwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • alarmă falsăthing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Russian ло́жная трево́га, ло́жная трево́га
  • ло́жная трево́га (lóžnaja trevóga)warning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • ло́жная трево́га (lóžnaja trevóga)thing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Spanish falsa alarma
  • falsa alarmawarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
Swedish falskt alarm, falskt alarm
  • falskt alarmwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • falskt alarmthing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Tagalog tibadbad, tibadbad
  • tibadbadwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
  • tibadbadthing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern
Turkish yanlış alarm
  • yanlış alarmwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
Vietnamese báo động giả
  • báo động giảwarning sound that turns out to be erroneous
Cite this entry
APA

false alarm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20alarm

MLA

“false alarm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20alarm. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “false alarm,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20alarm.

Source: false alarm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.