Tell

Phonetics:

/tɛl/
/tɛl/

Meanings:

noun

Definition: 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 person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.

Definition: That which is told; a tale or account.

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

verb

Definition: (archaic outside of idioms) To count, reckon, or enumerate.

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

Definition: To narrate.

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

Definition: To convey by speech; to say.

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

Definition: To instruct or inform.

Example: Please tell me how to do it.

Definition: To order; to direct, to say to someone.

Example: Tell him to go away.

Definition: To discern, notice, identify or distinguish.

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

Definition: To reveal.

Example: Time will tell what became of him.

Definition: To be revealed.

Definition: To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.

Example: Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell.

Definition: To use (beads or similar objects) as an aid to prayer.

Definition: To inform someone in authority about a wrongdoing.

Example: I saw you steal those sweets! I’m going to tell!

Definition: (authorship) To reveal information in prose through outright expository statement — contrasted with show

Example: Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about Meg and Sage’s friendship to have less telling and more showing.

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