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Definitions for Telling

[1] having force or effect; effective; striking: a telling blow.
[2] revealing; indicative of much otherwise unnoticed: a telling analysis of motivation in business.
[3] to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.): to tell the story of Lincoln's childhood.
[4] to make known by speech or writing (a fact, news, information, etc.); communicate.
[5] to announce or proclaim.
[6] to utter (the truth, a lie, etc.).
[7] to express in words (thoughts, feelings, etc.).
[8] to reveal or divulge (something secret or private).
[9] to say plainly or positively: I cannot tell just what was done.
[10] 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?
[11] to distinguish; discriminate; ascertain: You could hardly tell the difference between them.
[12] to inform (a person) of something: He told me his name.
[13] to assure emphatically: I won't, I tell you!
[14] to bid, order, or command: Tell him to stop.
[15] to 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.
[16] to give an account or report: Tell me about your trip.
[17] to give evidence or be an indication: The ruined temples told of an ancient culture, long since passed from existence.
[18] to disclose something secret or private; inform; tattle: She knows who did it, but she won't tell.
[19] to say positively; determine; predict: Who can tell?
[20] to have force or effect; operate effectively: a contest in which every stroke tells.
[21] to produce a marked or severe effect: The strain was telling on his health.
[22] British Dialect . to talk or chat.
[23] tell off , to separate from the whole and assign to a particular duty. Informal . to rebuke severely; scold: It was about time that someone told him off.
[24] tell on , to tattle on (someone).
[25] having a marked effect or impact a telling blow
[26] revealing a telling smile
[27] William, German name Wilhelm Tell. a legendary Swiss patriot, who, traditionally, lived in the early 14th century and was compelled by an Austrian governor to shoot an apple from his son's head with one shot of his crossbow. He did so without mishap
[28] (when tr, may take a clause as object) to let know or notify he told me that he would go
[29] (tr) to order or instruct (someone to do something) I told her to send the letter airmail
[30] (when intr, usually foll by of ) to give an account or narration (of something) she told me her troubles
[31] (tr) to communicate by words; utter to tell the truth
[32] (tr) to make known; disclose to tell fortunes
[33] (intr often foll by of ) to serve as an indication her blush told of her embarrassment
[34] (tr; used with can, etc ; may take a clause as object) to comprehend, discover, or discern I can tell what is wrong
[35] (tr; used with can, etc ) to distinguish or discriminate he couldn't tell chalk from cheese
[36] (intr) to have or produce an impact, effect, or strain every step told on his bruised feet
[37] (intr sometimes foll by on ) informal to reveal secrets or gossip (about) don't tell! ; she told on him
[38] (tr) to assure I tell you, I've had enough!
[39] (tr) to count (votes)
[40] (intr) dialect to talk or chatter
[41] informal , mainly US to tell the truth no matter how unpleasant it is
[42] tell the time to read the time from a clock
[43] you're telling me slang I know that very well
[44] a large mound resulting from the accumulation of rubbish on a long-settled site, esp one with mudbrick buildings, particularly in the Middle East

Words related to Telling

satisfying, striking, trenchant, powerful, forceful, devastating, convincing, cogent, decisive, conspicuous, sound, solid, operative, marked, considerable, crucial, effectual, forcible, important, impressive

Words nearby Telling

tell-all, tellable, teller, teller, edward, tellin, telling, telloh, telltale, tellurate, tellurian, telluric

Origin of Telling

1before 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

Other words from Telling

tell·ing·ly , adverb
un·tell·ing , adjective

Word origin for Telling

C19: from Arabic tall

Synonyms for Telling

cogent, conspicuous, convincing, decisive, devastating, forceful, powerful, satisfying, striking, trenchant, marked, operative, solid, sound, considerable, crucial, effectual, forcible, important, impressive, influential, potent, satisfactory, valid, weighty