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.

It seems too good to be true, and it almost made me feel like I would be stupid not to invest — which, of course, made me very, very suspicious.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026

At the end of 2020, Rabo put him on a list as a client of key concern—internal analysts determined his business projections seemed too good to be true, according to the court documents.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

It wasn’t too good to be true, but it was too good to remain true.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

Its advice is: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

This paradise felt too good to be true.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

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