Join free

false alarm

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

false alarm

noun false alarms

  1. 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. "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."
  2. broadly, idiomatic A 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.
  3. archaic, idiomatic A 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. "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!"

    Opposite: real deal

Translations

Every language

noun warning sound that turns out to be erroneous

Españolfalsa alarma
日本語虚報 kyohō
中文虛驚 /虚惊 xūjīng, 誤警 /误警 wùjǐng, 假警報 /假警报 jiǎjǐngbào
Françaisfausse alarme, fausse alerte
DeutschFehlalarm, Falschmeldung
Italianofalso allarme
Românăalarmă falsă
Русскийло́жная трево́га lóžnaja trevóga
Tiếng Việtbáo động giả

noun thing or occurrence initially causing fear, etc. but subsequently seen to be no cause for concern

日本語虚報 kyohō
中文虛驚 /虚惊 xūjīng, 誤警 /误警 wùjǐng
Françaisfausse alarme
DeutschFehlalarm
Românăalarmă falsă
Русскийло́жная трево́га lóžnaja trevóga

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"false alarm." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/false%20alarm. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

false alarm. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/false%20alarm

Chicago

"false alarm." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/false%20alarm.

BibTeX
@misc{false_alarm_2026,
  title = {false alarm},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/false%20alarm},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}