telling

Study(27)

/ˈtɛlɪŋ/

noun 4adj 3

Collocations

ADJ.

above, all, beyond, filthy, kind, rainy, secret

The filthy telling details in the crime scene report made everyone in the room visibly uncomfortable.

VERB + TELLING

consoled, degrade, forgive, identify, means, stop, suspecting

She finally forgave him after years of telling her the same excuses over and over.

TELLING + NOUN

everybody, fables, hippos, stories, truth

My grandmother was always telling stories about her childhood in the village.

PREP.

about, about, in

She was telling me about her new job when the phone rang suddenly.

ADV.

always, such

She was always telling her friends about the latest gossip at work.

Definitions

adj

Having force, or having a marked effect; weighty, effective.

a telling blow

Revealing information; bearing significance.

a telling smile

But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.

Serving to convince.

telling evidence

noun

The act of narration.

The disclosure of information.

There may he sit and smile, or creep among the ships, or moan and sigh round islands in his great content—the miser lord of wealth in gems and pearls beyond the telling of all fables.

Counting, numbering.

Ability to determine.

"One white man." said Bill, after a brief inspection. "Out on his line, I s'pose, and there's no tellin' when he'll be back. So we won't wait. We'll just serve notice on him."

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — disclosing information or giving evidence about another

noun — informing by words

apprisal
notification

noun — an act of narration

relation
recounting

adjective — producing a strong effect

impressive

adjective — disclosing unintentionally something concealed

revealing

adjective — powerfully persuasive

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

you're telling me

Used to indicate that the speaker was in agreement with the preceding statement before it was made.

Near-synonyms: I know, right; IKR

who are you telling

Used in response to an assertion that one is already fully aware of.

That performance was off the chain! Who are you telling?

hard telling, not knowing

I don't know.

I'm not telling you

Used to express that someone doesn't need to know something, typically because it is a secret (sometimes used as a way to attempt to hide someone's wrongdoing); may also be used when someone tries to ask for answers while doing an assignmen

there is no telling

Used to indicate that something cannot be known or predicted with certainty.

Example Bank

a telling blow

Wiktionary

a telling smile

Wiktionary

There may he sit and smile, or creep among the ships, or moan and sigh round islands in his great content—the miser lord of wealth in gems and pearls beyond the telling of all fables.

Wiktionary

"One white man." said Bill, after a brief inspection. "Out on his line, I s'pose, and there's no tellin' when he'll be back. So we won't wait. We'll just serve notice on him."

Wiktionary

Being objective means not telling everybody whose side you are on.

Tatoeba · #1789

Usage Notes

i Register

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

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