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| tell [ tel ] |
verb (past and past participle told [ tōld ], present participle tell·ing, 3rd person present singular tells) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive verb relate events or facts: to give an account in speech or writing of events or facts
  tell a story
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2. transitive verb express something: to express a particular thing in speech
tell a lie
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3. transitive verb inform somebody: to inform somebody of something
Who told you?
Jim told us the news.
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4. transitive and intransitive verb express something in words to somebody: to express thoughts or feelings to somebody in words
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5. transitive verb order somebody: to command or order somebody to do something
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6. transitive verb distinguish one from other: to distinguish two or more people or things
couldn't tell one from the other
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7. transitive verb discern something: to ascertain or perceive something
couldn't tell whether she was pleased or not
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8. transitive verb reveal future: to purport to reveal future events
tell your fortune
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9. intransitive verb reveal secret: to reveal secret or damaging information, especially to an authority
Don't worry - I won't tell.
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10. transitive verb count things: to count things such as votes cast or beads as part of a prayer
tell a rosary
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noun (plural tells) |
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| Definition: |
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revealing action: an action that unconsciously reveals secret information
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| [ Old English tellan< Germanic, "put in order"] |
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| tell·a·ble adjective |
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all told altogether, or when everything else is taken into consideration
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tell it like it is to give a frank and accurate account of something (informal)
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tell me about it!
1. used to indicate heartfelt agreement
2. used wryly to indicate to a speaker that you too have had a similar experience to the one being described, usually a negative experience
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there's no telling it is impossible to ascertain or predict a particular thing
There's no telling how fast the disease will spread.
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you're telling me! used to indicate agreement with an observation (informal)
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