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Glite Dictionary
to burst someone's bubble

to burst someone's bubble

6.3
Tell someone that something they hoped for is not true
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : desilusionar a alguien
  • He wasn't ready for the news, but I had to burst his bubble about the job opportunity.

Examples

  • It's tough to burst someone's bubble, but honesty is important in our friendship.

  • Yeah, I'll let someone else burst her bubble.

    Despicable Me 3 (2017)

  • Do you wanna be the one to burst his bubble?

    Cocoon: The Return (1988)

  • Sorry to burst GoGrid's bubble, but it's not the first to support Windows.

    Blog text (13)

  • I had to burst her bubble when I explained that the concert was canceled.

Synonyms

to disillusion
vsto burst someone's bubble
18 6.4

To make someone realize that something they believed is not true

focuses on revealing an unpleasant truth that directly disappoints
to dishearten
vsto burst someone's bubble
8 5.3

To make someone lose hope or confidence

is about revealing an unpleasant truth rather than general loss of hope
to break it to someone
vsto burst someone's bubble
4.6

To tell someone bad news gently

focuses on revealing an unpleasant truth that shatters hope rather than tact

Antonyms

to uplift
23 3.2

To make someone feel happier and more hopeful

to support your dreams
1 3.6

Help someone reach their goals in life

How Disappointing

to burst someone's bubble
  • Informal
6.3
to disappoint
492 1.0
to let down
210 2.9

Surface Forms

burst someone's bubble infinitive
burst someone's bubble past
burst someone's bubble past participle
bursting someone's bubble present participle
bursts someone's bubble third person singular

Morphology

burst + someone's + bubble

The verb 'burst' (to break suddenly) combined with 'bubble' (used metaphorically for an illusory expectation) directly suggests destroying an illusion, so the overall meaning is conceptually compositional. However, a B1 learner who only knows the literal 'soap bubble' sense may not infer the figurative meaning without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially predictable.

Etymology

The idiom burst someone's bubble comes from the image of a thin bubble that pops when you touch it. To burst that bubble is to break a nice but fragile idea, so the phrase means 'to reveal an unpleasant truth' or 'to disappoint'.