TELL (told)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Tell mean? 

• TELL (noun)
  The noun TELL has 1 sense:

1. 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)

  Familiarity information: TELL used as a noun is very rare.

• TELL (verb)
  The verb TELL has 8 senses:

1. express in words

2. let something be known

3. narrate or give a detailed account of

4. give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority

5. discern or comprehend

6. inform positively and with certainty and confidence

7. give evidence

8. mark as different

  Familiarity information: TELL used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TELL (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)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Tell; William Tell

Instance hypernyms:

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

• TELL (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Express in words

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

say; state; tell

Context example:

state your name

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 2

Meaning:

Let something be known

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

Tell them that you will be late

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)

spill; talk (reveal information)

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

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)

air; bare; publicise; publicize (make public)

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 3

Meaning:

Narrate or give a detailed account of

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

narrate; recite; recount; tell

Context example:

The father told a story to his child

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 4

Meaning:

Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

enjoin; order; say; tell

Context example:

The mother told the child to get dressed

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

request (ask (a person) to do something)

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

command; require (make someone do something)

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)

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 5

Meaning:

Discern or comprehend

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

He could tell that she was unhappy

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 6

Meaning:

Inform positively and with certainty and confidence

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

assure; tell

Context example:

I tell you that man is a crook!

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

Sense 7

Meaning:

Give evidence

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

evidence; tell

Context example:

he was telling on all his former colleague

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 8

Meaning:

Mark as different

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

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

Context example:

We distinguish several kinds of maple

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"):

discriminate; know apart (recognize or perceive the difference)

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

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)

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)

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

Sentence frames:

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

 Context examples 

Don't tell me that he assaulted you.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But I will tell you everything in order.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"I cannot tell," she returned, "but you may come with me, if you like. If Oz will not give you any brains you will be no worse off than you are now."

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

‘Can you tell me where I am?’ he asked.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But I paused when I reflected on the story that I had to tell.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

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

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

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

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

No! I'll tell you how we can manage, each wear one good one and carry a bad one.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient tell jokes or make remarks that are not funny to others but seem funny to him/her?

(NPI - Tell Jokes or Make Remarks That are Not Funny to Others, NCI Thesaurus)

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

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