Library / English Dictionary

TELL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: told   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer; according to legend an Austrian governor compelled him to shoot an apple from his son's head with his crossbow (which he did successfully without mishap)

Synonyms:

Tell; William Tell

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

archer; bowman (a person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Mark as different

Example:

We distinguish several kinds of maple

Synonyms:

differentiate; distinguish; secern; secernate; separate; severalise; severalize; tell; tell apart

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):

identify; place (recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something)

"Tell" entails doing...:

compare (examine and note the similarities or differences of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):

stratify (divide society into social classes or castes)

discriminate; separate; single out (treat differently on the basis of sex or race)

demarcate (separate clearly, as if by boundaries)

decouple; dissociate (regard as unconnected)

contradistinguish (distinguish by contrasting qualities)

severalise; severalize (distinguish or separate)

have the distinction (be distinguished from others of a similar type by virtue of a notable characteristic)

contrast (put in opposition to show or emphasize differences)

individualise; individualize (make or mark or treat as individual)

sex (tell the sex (of young chickens))

label (distinguish (as a compound or molecule) by introducing a labeled atom)

label (distinguish (an element or atom) by using a radioactive isotope or an isotope of unusual mass for tracing through chemical reactions)

discriminate; know apart (recognize or perceive the difference)

know (be able to distinguish, recognize as being different)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Discern or comprehend

Example:

He could tell that she was unhappy

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):

guess; infer (guess correctly; solve by guessing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 3

Meaning:

Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority

Example:

The mother told the child to get dressed

Synonyms:

enjoin; order; say; tell

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):

request (ask (a person) to do something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):

prescribe ((medicine) order the use of (a treatment, medicine, etc.), usually by written prescription)

warn (ask to go away)

call; send for (order, request, or command to come)

command; require (make someone do something)

instruct (give instructions or directions for some task)

direct (command with authority)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They tell him to write the letter

Sense 4

Meaning:

Let something be known

Example:

Tell them that you will be late

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):

inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state of affairs, or event to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):

give; impart; leave; pass on (transmit (knowledge or skills))

announce; annunciate; foretell; harbinger; herald (foreshadow or presage)

propagandise; propagandize (subject to propaganda)

ingeminate; iterate; reiterate; repeat; restate; retell (to say, state, or perform again)

air; bare; publicise; publicize (make public)

spill; talk (reveal information)

break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; let on; let out; reveal; uncover; unwrap (make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret)

bespeak; betoken; indicate; point; signal (be a signal for or a symptom of)

digress; divagate; stray; wander (lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Also:

tell off (reprimand)

Derivation:

tale (a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Narrate or give a detailed account of

Example:

The father told a story to his child

Synonyms:

narrate; recite; recount; tell

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):

inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state of affairs, or event to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):

relate (give an account of)

crack (tell spontaneously)

yarn (tell or spin a yarn)

rhapsodise; rhapsodize (recite a rhapsody)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sentence example:

They won't tell the story

Derivation:

tale (a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program)

teller (someone who tells a story)

telling (an act of narration)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Give evidence

Example:

he was telling on all his former colleague

Synonyms:

evidence; tell

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):

inform (act as an informer)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Also:

tell apart (detect with the senses)

Derivation:

telling (disclosing information or giving evidence about another)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Express in words

Example:

state your name

Synonyms:

say; state; tell

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):

express; give tongue to; utter; verbalise; verbalize (articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise)

Verb group:

say (state as one's opinion or judgement; declare)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):

sum; sum up; summarise; summarize (be a summary of)

give (convey or reveal information)

explain (define)

add; append; supply (state or say further)

mention; note; observe; remark (make mention of)

declare (make a declaration (of dutiable goods) to a customs official)

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

get out (express with difficulty)

articulate; enunciate; vocalise; vocalize (express or state clearly)

announce; declare (announce publicly or officially)

introduce; precede; preface; premise (furnish with a preface or introduction)

answer; reply; respond (react verbally)

misstate (state something incorrectly)

lay out; present; represent (bring forward and present to the mind)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They tell that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

teller (someone who tells a story)

telling (informing by words)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Inform positively and with certainty and confidence

Example:

I tell you that man is a crook!

Synonyms:

assure; tell

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):

affirm; assert; aver; avow; swan; swear; verify (to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody of something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Credits

 Context examples: 

Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS) Please use the scale below to tell us how hot your pain feels.

(NPS - Tell Us How Hot Your Pain Feels, NCI Thesaurus)

Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS) Please use the scale below to tell us how itchy your pain feels.

(NPS - Tell Us How Itchy Your Pain Feels, NCI Thesaurus)

I will go and tell Charles, and get ready directly.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Probably I should have told the whole story to the doctor, for I was in mortal fear lest the captain should repent of his confessions and make an end of me.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

He saw with wide eyes, and he could tell what he saw.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

And what is hell? Can you tell me that? A pit full of fire.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Blood tests and genetic tests can tell if you have it.

(Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

"I'll tell him," she replied, with a toss of her head.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Tell your doctor if you have any side effects.

(Antidepressants, NIH: National Institute of Mental Health)

“They told us we couldn’t make White River, and here we are.”

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)