Dictionary

ring hollow en · VERB

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To seem to be false or implausible; to be unconvincing.
   • In his own ears the words he spoke rang hollow, awkward, even impertinent. He could say nothing which did not seem hideously supercilious. 1901, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter 9, in The Hero:
   • Recognising your mistake and atoning for it is, of course, to be applauded, but after all the decades of cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy, it rang hollow for many. 2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian:

Forms

Antonyms

ring true

Synonyms

ring false

Translations (2)

pl brzmieć nieszczerze (to seem to be false) · nb klinge hult (to seem to be false)