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Glite Dictionary
to retell

to retell

11 2.8
To tell a story or event again in different words
  • verb
  • /ˌriːˈtɛl/
translation icon : recontar
  • On another day, invite the children to retell Little Wolf's story.
  • retell stories
  • retell a passage
  • retell events

The Muslims retell many of the stories in the Bible.

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Examples

  • Love Flute by Paul Goble is a children's book that retells one of those creation myths.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Why don't you retell us now?

    American Wedding (2003)

  • Let me suggest, then, that one way to make both art and the world new is to retell an old story.

    Harvard University

  • In Step 4, a teacher volunteers to retell a story that the entire class has just heard.

    Academic text (1990)

  • I just did this AI art to retell the story of Adam and Eve.

  • Women began to meet in circles to tell and retell their stories.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Each child then took a turn retelling the legend to a friend.

    Academic text (1994)

  • In this now-classic novel, John Gardner retells the story from Grendel's point of view.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Afterwards, we'll attend a traditional pageant known as La Posadas, which retells the story of Mary and Joseph looking for shelter in Bethlehem.

    Ideal Home (2018)

  • The students were recorded using puppets to retell a story and view the videotaped retellings.

Synonyms

to tell
vsto retell
∞ 1.0

Talk about events or stories

is about saying the same narrative again, sometimes with changes
to repeat
vsto retell
∞ 1.0

To do or say something again

focuses on retelling a story again, possibly with changes or new listeners
to reiterate
vsto retell
100 5.9

To say something again to make it clear

is about repeating a full narrative rather than simply repeating words
to recount
vsto retell
83 4.1

To tell someone about something you experienced in detail

focuses on telling the same narrative again, sometimes adapted for others
to narrate
vsto retell
59 4.0

To tell a story, usually by speaking or writing

is used when the story is repeated for a different audience rather than first telling
to rehash
vsto retell
24 6.4

To present old ideas again with only small changes

tends to involve reworking the story rather than offering nothing new
to restate
vsto retell
23 3.4

To say something again in a different, clearer way

is more about repeating a full story rather than just phrasing changes
to rearticulate
vsto retell
1 6.7

To say something again in a clearer way

focuses on repeating the whole story, not only clarifying words

Antonyms

to forget
∞ 1.0

Not remember something you should remember

How Detailed

to recount
83 4.1
to narrate
59 4.0
to retell
11 2.8
to summarize
  • US
90 3.0
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

retell infinitive
retelling present participle
retells third person singular
retold past
retold past participle

Morphology

retell = tell (transparent) = re + tell

The meaning is a straightforward instance of 're-' meaning 'again' added to 'tell'.

Etymology

The word retell has re- meaning 'again', just like in repeat, and tell meaning 'to say' or 'to tell a story', so retell means to 'tell again', often in a new way or to new listeners.