ring hollow

ring hollow
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.


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  • ring hollow — phrase to sound false or not sincere The company’s claim that it is an unwitting participant rings hollow. Thesaurus: to seem unreal or untruesynonym Main entry: ring * * * ring ˈtrue/ˈhollow/ˈfalse idiom to give the impression of being sinc …   Useful english dictionary

  • ring hollow — to seem dishonest, not true, or wrong. The Rockets sounded like a defeated team they talked of the possibility of a comeback, but the words rang hollow. Her characters and situations all ring false and her movie just seems painful and pointless.… …   New idioms dictionary

  • ring hollow — if something someone says rings hollow, it does not sound true or sincere. The claims they made two years ago that peace was just around the corner ring very hollow now …   New idioms dictionary

  • ring hollow — to sound false or not sincere The company s claim that it is an unwitting participant rings hollow. • See: have a hollow ring …   English dictionary

  • ring hollow — sound hollow; sound insincere, sound dishonest …   English contemporary dictionary

  • ring — ring1 W2S1 [rıŋ] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(jewellery)¦ 2¦(circle)¦ 3 give somebody a ring 4¦(bells)¦ 5¦(criminals)¦ 6 have the/a ring of something 7 have a familiar ring 8 run rings around somebody 9¦(cooking)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • ring — I n. circular band 1) a diamond; gold; sapphire ring 2) an earring; engagement; signet; wedding ring 3) a key; napkin; teething ring 4) a piston ring 5) smoke rings (to blow smoke rings) 6) (misc.) to wear a ring on one s finger group 7) a… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • ring — 1 /rIN/ noun 1 JEWELLERY (C) a piece of jewellery that you wear on your finger: a diamond ring (=decorated with diamonds) see also: engagement ring, wedding ring 2 CIRCLE (C) a) a circular line or mark: Martha had dark rings round her eyes from… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • hollow — hol|low1 [ halou ] adjective * 1. ) empty inside: The tree trunk was completely hollow. hollow chocolate eggs 2. ) hollow promises or threats are not sincere, or are about things that will not really happen: EMPTY: The president s election… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • ring (past tense rang) — ring1 (past tense rang [ ræŋ ] ; past participle rung [ rʌŋ ] ) verb *** 1. ) transitive to make a bell produce a sound: He rang the doorbell. a ) intransitive if a bell rings, it produces a sound: A bell rang and the children trooped back into… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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