if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Something that seems perfect or ideal is likely to be false or misleading
Examples
She was skeptical of the investment opportunity because if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” mean?
Something that seems perfect or ideal is likely to be false or misleading
Is “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.