Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to sound fishy

to sound fishy

1 7.0
To seem not honest or real
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : sonar sospechoso
  • The whole thing sounds fishy to me.

Examples

  • This deal sounds fishy; I don't trust the seller.

  • Sounds fishy, but it really happened.

    That's My Boy (2012)

  • Of course it sounds fishy.

    The Way of the Gun (2000)

  • I know it sounds fishy.

    Narrow Margin (1990)

  • This sounds fishy to me.

    Blog text (10)

  • The whole thing sounded fishy at the time.

    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

  • Something sounds fishy.

    Blog text (14)

  • Sounds fishy to me.

    The Guard (2011)

  • Sounds fishy to me.

    Blog text (18)

  • "At first, everyone believed in the artifacts," he says, "but it began to sound fishy when I found out some of the graffiti that was found while washing came from my work area."

    Academic text (2009)

Synonyms

to smell fishy
vsto sound fishy
  • Informal
2 6.8

To seem suspicious or dishonest

focuses on general suspicion rather than definite dishonesty
to seem fishy
vsto sound fishy
  • Informal
1 7.2

To look suspicious or not honest

has identical meaning but uses another common phrasing
to feel sus
vsto sound fishy
  • Slang
9.9

To seem suspicious or not trustworthy to other people

describes outward signs seen by others rather than a private feeling

Antonyms

credible
267 4.2

Something that seems true and that people can trust

trustworthy
88 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

Surface Forms

sound fishy infinitive
sounded fishy past
sounded fishy past participle
sounding fishy present participle
sounds fishy third person singular

Morphology

sound + fishy

The meaning 'to seem suspicious' is directly and compositionally derived from 'sound' (to seem) combined with 'fishy' (dubious/suspicious). This verb + adjective pattern is a regular, transparent construction and would be readily inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Sound fishy uses fishy like something that smells bad; imagine a fish that is not fresh and gives a strong, bad smell. So when a story or excuse 'sounds fishy', it gives that warning and means 'to seem suspicious or untrustworthy'.