Overview of noun telling

The noun telling has 3 senses

• relation, telling, recounting -- (an act of narration; "he was the hero according to his own relation"; "his endless recounting of the incident eventually became unbearable")


• telling, apprisal, notification -- (informing by words)


• tattle, singing, telling -- (disclosing information or giving evidence about another)

Overview of verb tell

The verb tell has 8 senses

• state, say, tell -- (express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her"; "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion"; "state your name")


• tell -- (let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late")


• tell, narrate, recount, recite -- (narrate or give a detailed account of; "Tell what happened"; "The father told a story to his child")


• order, tell, enjoin, say -- (give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority; "I said to him to go home"; "She ordered him to do the shopping"; "The mother told the child to get dressed")


• tell -- (discern or comprehend; "He could tell that she was unhappy")


• assure, tell -- (inform positively and with certainty and confidence; "I tell you that man is a crook!")


• tell, evidence -- (give evidence; "he was telling on all his former colleague")


• distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern, secernate, severalize, severalise, tell, tell apart -- (mark as different; "We distinguish several kinds of maple")

Overview of adj telling

The adj telling has 3 senses

• revealing, telling, telltale -- (disclosing unintentionally; "a telling smile"; "a telltale panel of lights"; "a telltale patch of oil on the water marked where the boat went down")


• cogent, telling, weighty -- (powerfully persuasive; "a cogent argument"; "a telling presentation"; "a weighty argument")


• impressive, telling -- (producing a strong effect; "gave an impressive performance as Othello"; "a telling gesture")