too good to be true

Idioms

So excellent that it defies belief, as in She loves all her in-laws? That's too good to be true. This term expresses the skeptical view that something so seemingly fine must have something wrong with it. The term was part of the title of Thomas Lupton's Sivquila; Too Good to be True (1580).

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Be on the lookout for anything that seems too good to be true.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

Is the $599 MacBook Neo too good to be true?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026

It was too good to be true, of course.

From Barron's • Mar. 1, 2026

If a free VPN seems too good to be true, it probably is.

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026

I stared back at the blue eyes I’d always thought were too good to be true.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023