tell

Study(23)

[tʰɔː]

verb 5noun 5name 1

Collocations

(verb.) give sb information

ADV

bluntly, curtly, flatly

He flatly refused to accept her apology and walked out of the room.

gravely | smugly | truthfully | falsely

VERB + TELL

want to

be going to

I was going to tell you about the party, but I forgot your number.

try to

hate to

I hate to tell you this, but I've already eaten all the cookies.

let sb

My parents wouldn't let me tell my friends about the surprise party.

PREP

about

She told her parents about her new job at the hospital.

My friend told me of a great new restaurant that opened downtown last week.

She told her secret to her best friend last week.

(verb.) order sb

ADV

firmly, sternly

The teacher sternly told the students that late assignments would not be accepted.

Definitions

verb

Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving

All told, there were over a dozen. Can you tell time on a clock? He had untold wealth.

And in his lap a masse of coyne he told, And turned vpsidowne, to feede his eye A couetous desire with his huge threasury.

Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving

I can tell that you're thrilled.

You can tell you've struck a nerve when even the crowd stops laughing.

Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving

An expert can tell an original from a forgery.

Can you tell whether those flowers are real or silk, from this distance? No, there's no way to tell.

Social senses of communicating

I want to tell a story; I want to tell you a story.

“[…]Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing. Oh, dear, there's so much to tell you, so many warnings to give you, but all that must be postponed for the moment.”

Social senses of communicating

Finally, someone told him the truth. He seems to like to tell lies.

I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.

noun

A reflexive, often habitual behavior, especially one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the pe

A giveaway; something that unintentionally reveals or hints at a secret.

Those whose business it is to verify luxury bags insist, at least publicly, that there’s always a “tell” to a superfake.

Republican Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey said recently that “Israel is the only state in the world whose fundamental right to exist, within any borders at all, is openly denied by other states.” But Israel is the only nation with a “right to exist,” as the phrase is not commonly attached to any other country. And that’s the tell: This is not a legal concept, but a political one, available for broad interpretation and rhetorical weaponization.

That which is told; a tale or account.

April 4, 1743, Horace Walpole, letter to Sir Horace Mann I am at the end of my tell.

A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.

noun

A hill or mound, originally and especially in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.

Succoth is now associated with a large tell situated in the Jordan Valley, Deir Allah.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

verb — mark as different

distinguish
separate
differentiate
secern
secernate
severalize
severalise

verb — give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with

verb — narrate or give a detailed account of

verb — give evidence

evidence

verb — express in words

verb — inform positively and with certainty and confidence

assure

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

I tell a lie

I am mistaken; I thought that what I said (or wrote) was true, but I have just realised that it is not.

I visited Canada in 1996—no, I tell a lie, in 1997.

tell all

To reveal everything, particularly information that is normally withheld.

The suspect told all when he saw the surveillance tapes linking him to the crime scene.

you can't tell a book by its cover

Alternative form of you can't judge a book by its cover.

can you tell us

Begins a polite request; used on behalf of more than one speaker.

Can you tell us how you will motivate your students to learn?

tell it to Sweeney

I do not believe what you said.

Example Bank

All told, there were over a dozen. Can you tell time on a clock? He had untold wealth.

Wiktionary

And in his lap a masse of coyne he told, And turned vpsidowne, to feede his eye A couetous desire with his huge threasury.

Wiktionary

Well fare the Arabians, who so richly pay The things they traffic for with wedge of gold, Whereof a man may easily in a day Tell that which may maintain him all his life.

Wiktionary

Those whose business it is to verify luxury bags insist, at least publicly, that there’s always a “tell” to a superfake.

Wiktionary

April 4, 1743, Horace Walpole, letter to Sir Horace Mann I am at the end of my tell.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, tell is marked as informal, archaic. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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