ring false

present singular third person rings false · participle present ringing false · past rang false · participle past rung false

1. idiomaticTo seem to be incorrect, or implausible.

   His excuse about his car breaking down again rings false to me.

   2 more examples

   Moments of potential transcendence, such as an afternoon constitutional through an expressionistic wonderland recalling the Fuji Velvia vividness of What Dreams May Come, ring false in light of this project's mercenary origins.

   2018 December 12, Charles Bramesco, “A Spoonful of Nostalgia Helps the Calculated Mary Poppins Returns Go Down”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 24 May 2019

   But to some viewers, it rang false. They had seen this pattern before: show writes meme-able scene; scene becomes meme; instant marketing; profit.

   2022 September 22, Jess Thomson, “‘Becoming a meme totally helps a show’: is TV being written with epic gifs in mind?”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: ring hollow · Antonyms: ring true