tell

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also tell off

verb

1. To give a verbal account of: describe, narrate, recite, recount, rehearse, relate, report. See words.
2. To put into words: articulate, communicate, convey, declare, express, say, state, talk, utter¹, vent, verbalize, vocalize, voice. Idioms: givetongueventvoiceto. See words.
3. To make known: break, carry, communicate, convey, disclose, get across, impart, pass, report, transmit. See knowledge/ignorance.
4. To disclose in a breach of confidence: betray, blab, divulge, expose, give away, let out, reveal, uncover, unveil. Informal spill. Archaic discover. Idioms: let slip, let the cat out of the bag, spill the beans, tell all. See show/hide.
5. To impart information to: acquaint, advise, apprise, educate, enlighten, inform, notify. See knowledge/ignorance, teach/learn.
6. To give orders to: bid, charge, command, direct, enjoin, instruct, order. See over/under, words.
7. To recognize as being different: differentiate, discern, discriminate, distinguish, know, separate. See same/different/compare.
8. To note (items) one by one so as to get a total: count, enumerate, number, numerate, reckon, tally. See count.

phrasal verb - tell off

To reprimand loudly or harshly: bawl out, berate, rate². Idioms: give hell to, give it to. See attack/defend.

Idioms beginning with tell:
tell apart
tell it like it is
tell it to the Marines
tell me
tell someone where to get off
tell on
tell tales
tell time

See also do tell; kiss and tell; show and tell; something tells me; there's no telling; thing or two, tell a; time will tell; which is which, tell; you never can tell; you're telling me. Also see under told.

v

Definition: calculate
Antonyms: estimate, figure, guess

v

Definition: narrate, describe
Antonyms: listen

v

Definition: understand, discern
Antonyms: misunderstand

[MC]

Artificial mound or hill resulting from the accumulation of occupation debris over a long period of time. In the Near East and southeast Europe (especially northern Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania) the use of mud brick lent itself to the building up of deep deposits as successive phases of settlement were constructed upon the ruins of their predecessors and then in turn levelled to provide a platform for succeeding structures. The terms tal, tepe, depe, and hüyük are local names for tell mounds in different parts of Anatolia and the Near East and are often reflected in modern place-names and archaeological sitenames.

Hill or mound. The Arabic word tall means a hill, and is used to describe such geographical features. In archeological parlance, however, it refers to a mound containing ancient archeological remains. Finally, it also refers to a large region of North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia.

IN BRIEF: To say with words. Also: To say something secret.

When in doubt, tell the truth. — Mark Twain (1835-1910), American writer, pen name for Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

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as in: tell me
sign description: COMBINED SIGN: TELL + ME The index finger starts at the chin and then goes out and down to the chest.

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verb trans
verb trans, dated

1: tell it (or that) to the marines a dismissive expression of incredulity. Also () tell it to the horse marines. (1806 —) .
D. Francis 'When this is over you can sleep for a fortnight.' 'Yeah?' he said sarcastically. 'Tell it to the marines' (1967).

2: to tell it like it is orig US, African-American To give the facts of a matter realistically or honestly, holding nothing back. (1964 —) .
L. Lokos The crowd responded fervently with 'Amen, amen,' and 'Tell it like it is' (1969).

[In sense 1, apparently from marines' reputation among sailors for being credulous.]

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For a list of words related to tell, see:

• Modes and Manners of Expression - tell: inform; reveal
• Reasoning and Informing - tell: inform; reveal

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See words rhyming with "tell."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Tell.

Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. tr. - tale om, fortælle, orientere, berette
v. intr. - afsløre, røbe

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    så vidt man ved
• tell against    tale imod, bagtale, vidne mod
• tell apart    skelne
• tell me another    "så tror vi på julemanden også"
• tell off    skælde ud, irettesætte
• tell on    sladre om, virke på, kunne mærkes på
• tell the time    sige hvad klokken er
• there's no telling    man ved aldrig, det er umuligt at sige
• time will tell    det viser sig med tiden
• You're telling me    som om jeg ikke allerede ved det

2.
n. - høj

Nederlands (Dutch)
vertellen, zeggen, bevelen, weten, verklappen, onderscheiden, tellen voor zover men weet

Français (French)
1.
v. tr. - (gén) dire, indiquer, raconter, révéler, distinguer, ordonner, compter, dénombrer (arch)
v. intr. - répéter à qn, rapporter, cafarder (fam), témoigner de, savoir, dire, accuser (âge), faire sentir

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    à ce que l'on peut (en) dire, autant que l'on puisse en dire
• I can tell you    permets-moi de te dire
• I tell you    puisque je te dis
• tell against    dire/déclarer à l'encontre de, jouer en sa défaveur
• tell apart    distinguer (l'un de l'autre)
• tell it like it is    racontez tel que ça s'est passé
• tell me about it    racontez-moi tout (excl), ne m'en parle pas (excl) (iron)
• tell me another    à d'autres!
• tell off    disputer, se faire disputer, passer un savon
• tell on    dénoncer, rapporter, moucharder, sentir/accuser (son âge), voir les effets de
• tell the time    dire l'heure, lire l'heure, indiquer/marquer l'heure
• there's no telling    impossible de dire
• time will tell    l'avenir le dira
• You're telling me    à qui le dis-tu!

2.
n. - tertre, monticule, butte

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - erzählen, sagen, befehlen, verständigen, verraten, versichern, feststellen, erkennen, sich auswirken, abzählen, (ugs.) verpetzen

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    wie es aussieht
• I can tell you    ich kann dir sagen, ..., ... , das kann ich dir sagen
• I tell you    ..., das sage ich dir
• tell against    sich nachteilig auswirken
• tell apart    auseinanderhalten
• tell it like it is    jmdn. die Augen öffnen, frei von der Leber weg reden
• tell me about it    jmdm. [etwas] von jmdm./etw. erzählen
• tell me another    du kannst mir viel erzählen
• tell off    ausschimpfen, abkommandieren
• tell on    verpetzen
• tell the time    die Uhr lesen
• there's no telling    man kann nie wissen
• time will tell    die Zukunft wird es zeigen
• you're telling me    wem sagst du das! (ugs.), du willst mir doch wohl nicht erzählen, dass ...?
• You're telling me    wem sagen Sie das!

2.
n. - aus archeologischen Überresten geformter Hügel

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - λέγω, λέω, αφηγούμαι (λεπτομερώς), γνωστοποιώ, πληροφορώ, ενημερώνω, εντέλλομαι, διατάζω, (ανα)γνωρίζω, ξεχωρίζω, διακρίνω
n. - (αρχαιολ.) τύμβος

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    απ' όσα γνωρίζω
• tell against    λειτουργώ σε βάρος (κάποιου)
• tell apart    διακρίνω, ξεχωρίζω
• tell me another    αλλού αυτά!, παραμύθια!
• tell off    επιπλήττω, κατσαδιάζω
• tell on    προδίδω, μαρτυρώ
• tell the time    λέω την ώρα
• there's no telling    άγνωστο (ποιος, τι κλπ.)
• time will tell    ο χρόνος θα δείξει
• You're telling me    εμένα μου λες! και λίγα τα λες!

Italiano (Italian)
raccontare, rivelare, suggerire, dire

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    a quel che sembra
• tell against    essere un punto contro
• tell apart    distinguere
• tell me another    ma va!, raccontamene un'altra
• tell off    designare, rimproverare, sgridare
• tell on    spiattellare
• there's no telling    non si sa mai
• You're telling me!    a me lo dici!

Português (Portuguese)
v. - dizer, contar, revelar, confessar, afirmar, exprimir, mandar, diferenciar, determinar
n. - dar a conhecer

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    até onde pode se dizer
• tell against    depôr contra
• tell apart    diferenciar, distinguir
• tell me another    conte-me outra (coloq.), mas é, héim (coloq.)
• tell off    repreender
• tell on    ter um efeito ruim sobre alguém ou alguma coisa, consumir, delatar (coloq.)
• tell the time    dizer as horas
• there's no telling    nunca se sabe
• time will tell    só o tempo dirá
• You're telling me!    já sei disso!

Русский (Russian)
рассказать, говорить, сообщать, разглашать, заверять, уверять, определять, опознавать, отличать, различать, показывать (время), сказываться, приказывать, велеть, курган, искусственный холм

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    постольку поскольку можно (судить/определить)
• tell against    сказываться во вред чему/кому-л.
• tell apart    отличить одного от другого
• tell me another    (разг.) выражение полного недоверия к сказанному
• tell off    отчитать, разбранить
• tell on    донести на кого-л., сказаться на чем-л.
• tell the time    (амер.) определять время (по часам)
• there's no telling    трудно предугадать
• time will tell    время покажет
• You're telling me!    (разг.) "мне это уже хорошо известно!"

Español (Spanish)
1.
v. tr. - informar, comunicar, advertir, revelar, avisar, contar, narrar, relatar, ordenar
v. intr. - advertir, delatar

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    que yo sepa
• I can tell you    esto seguramente no le va a caer en gracia
• I tell you    te ordeno
• tell against    perjudicar
• tell apart    distinguir
• tell it like it is    cuéntalo tal cual es
• tell me about it    infórmame
• tell me another    ¡cuéntaselo a tu abuela!
• tell off    regañar, reñir, designar
• tell on    delatar, denunciar, afectar a
• tell the time    decir la hora
• there's no telling    es imposible saber
• time will tell    el tiempo dirá
• You're telling me    ¡a quién se lo vas a contar!
• you're telling me    ¡a quién se lo vas a contar!

2.
n. - un terraplén artificial formado por la acumulación de restos de colonias arcaicas

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - tala om, berätta, förtälja, uttrycka (i ord), nämna, säga till, säga åt, uppmana, befalla, skilja, känna till
n. - ung. hög

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
告诉, 吩咐, 说, 讲述, 告发, 泄密

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    根据现有证据来判断
• tell against    不利某人
• tell apart    分辨
• tell me another    不见得吧, 我不相信别胡说
• tell off    分派出, 责备, 向...透露
• tell on    使疲倦, 告密
• tell the time    讲出或报出时间, 会看钟表
• there's no telling    难以预料, 无法知道
• time will tell    时间会证明一切
• You're telling me    还要你告诉我!, 我早就知道了

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 告訴, 吩咐, 說
v. intr. - 講述, 告發, 洩密

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    根據現有證據來判斷
• tell against    不利某人
• tell apart    分辨
• tell me another    不見得吧, 我不相信別胡說
• tell off    分派出, 責備, 向...透露
• tell on    使疲倦, 告密
• tell the time    講出或報出時間, 會看鐘錶
• there's no telling    難以預料, 無法知道
• time will tell    時間會證明一切
• You're telling me    還要你告訴我!, 我早就知道了

한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. tr. - 말하다, 분부하다, 표시하다
v. intr. - 진술하다, 고자질하다, 눈에 띄다

idioms:

• as far as one can tell    말할 수 있는 것에 한해서
• tell against    ~에게 불리하다
• tell apart    구별하다, 분리하다
• tell off    할당하다, 특파하다
• tell on    고자질하다, ~에 직효가 있다, ~에 영향을 미치다

2.
n. - 원시시대의 고분

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 話す, 知らせる, …に…せよと命じる, 分かる, 知る, 見分ける, 力を発揮する, 物語る, 告げる, 告げ口する, 効く

idioms:

• all told    総計して, 全体的にみて
• lived to tell the tale    最後までやり抜く
• tell against    不利である
• tell apart    見分ける
• tell fortunes    運勢を占う
• tell me another    別の話をする
• tell off    数え分ける, 振り当てる
• tell on    効き目がある, …にこたえる, ことを告げ口をする
• tell tales    告げ口する, うそをつく
• tell the time    時刻を言う

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يقول, يقص, يروي (الاسم) قصه بقدر ما يستطيع ان يعبر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮אמר, סיפר, הגיד, ידע, הורה, ציווה, נתן אותותיו, השפיע, מנה‬
v. intr. - ‮אמר, סיפר, הבחין, גילה, הכיר‬
n. - ‮תל (ארכיאולוגי)‬

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