Nearby Words
adjective
1.
having force or effect; effective; striking: a telling blow.
2.
revealing; indicative of much otherwise unnoticed: a telling analysis of motivation in business.
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Telling
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.): to tell the story of Lincoln's childhood.
2.
to make known by speech or writing (a fact, news, information, etc.); communicate.
3.
to announce or proclaim.
4.
to utter (the truth, a lie, etc.).
5.
EXPANDto express in words (thoughts, feelings, etc.).
6.
to reveal or divulge (something secret or private).
7.
to say plainly or positively: I cannot tell just what was done.
8.
to discern or recognize (a distant person or thing) so as to be able to identify or describe: Can you tell who that is over there?
9.
to distinguish; discriminate; ascertain: You could hardly tell the difference between them.
10.
to inform (a person) of something: He told me his name.
11.
to assure emphatically: I won't, I tell you!
12.
to bid, order, or command: Tell him to stop.
13.
COLLAPSEto mention one after another, as in enumerating; count or set one by one or in exact amount: to tell the cattle in a herd; All told there were 17 if we are correct.
verb (used without object)
Verb phrases14.
to give an account or report: Tell me about your trip.
15.
to give evidence or be an indication: The ruined temples told of an ancient culture, long since passed from existence.
16.
to disclose something secret or private; inform; tattle: She knows who did it, but she won't tell.
17.
EXPANDto say positively; determine; predict: Who can tell?
19.
to produce a marked or severe effect: The strain was telling on his health.
20.
COLLAPSEBritish Dialect. to talk or chat.
21.
tell off,
a.
to separate from the whole and assign to a particular duty.
b.
Informal. to rebuke severely; scold: It was about time that someone told him off.
22.
Idiomtell on, to tattle on (someone).
23.
tell it like it is, Informal. to tell the complete, unadulterated truth; be forthright: He may be crude but he tells it like it is.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English tellen, Old English tellan to relate, count; cognate with Dutch tellen to reckon, count, Old Norse telja to count, say, Old High German zellēn; akin to tale
before 900; Middle English tellen, Old English tellan to relate, count; cognate with Dutch tellen to reckon, count, Old Norse telja to count, say, Old High German zellēn; akin to tale
Synonyms
1. recount, describe, report. 2. impart. 4. speak. 6. disclose, betray; acknowledge, own, confess; declare.
1. recount, describe, report. 2. impart. 4. speak. 6. disclose, betray; acknowledge, own, confess; declare.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To telling
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
tell
"mound, hill," 1864, from Arabic tall, related to Heb. tel "mount, hill, heap."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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