MEANING
1. An apparent beginning of improvement or success that turns out not to be real.
2. A glow before sunrise, especially zodiacal light, that can resemble the beginning of dawn.
Use it for
describing a recovery that proves illusory; qualifying premature optimism; showing that early encouraging signs were misleading; distinguishing lasting improvement from a misleading startNames apparent improvement that proves illusory, not simply a recovery that proceeds slowly. Writing functions: Misleading improvement.
Words that belong together
- an economic false dawn
- prove a false dawn
- another false dawn
On the page
The brief rise in orders proved a false dawn when the main customer withdrew.
She feared that the ceasefire was another false dawn rather than the beginning of peace.
The observers watched the false dawn rise as a pale cone above the eastern horizon.
He waited through the false dawn while the surrounding hills remained dark.
Word forms
- Base
- false dawn
Usage notes
Noun phrase: false dawn/false dawns; often singular in the figurative sense. The astronomical use is distinct from the metaphor of premature improvement. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
Keep a thought for later. Sign in to save privately.