Idiom
ring hollow
Meaning
To seem to be false or implausible; to be unconvincing.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“His apology rings hollow because he keeps making the same mistake.”
“The politician promised to lower taxes, but his words rang hollow to the struggling families in the audience.”
“Despite the carefully rehearsed tone of sincerity in his speech, the excuses he offered for his betrayal rang hollow to those who knew the truth.”
Examples
simple
“His apology rings hollow because he keeps making the same mistake.”
contextual
“The politician promised to lower taxes, but his words rang hollow to the struggling families in the audience.”
complex
“Despite the carefully rehearsed tone of sincerity in his speech, the excuses he offered for his betrayal rang hollow to those who knew the truth.”
Key words
Related idioms
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