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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ To say 👆 To order 📖 To narrate 👁️ To recognize 🚨 To inform on
to tell

to tell

∞ 1.0
Give someone information
  • verb
  • /tɛl/
: decir
  • I need you to tell me where Claire is.
  • tell people
  • tell the truth
  • tell lies

So he goes on and he tells us that.

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Examples

  • Can you tell me what time the meeting starts?

  • Well, when he comes in, tell him to call Trencher's Farm.

    Straw Dogs (1971)

  • But I wish that you would tell me more often.

  • Look at me in these eyes when I tell you no.

  • It's not done yet, but I can tell you I love it.

    Laura Kampf

  • But what the teacher tells you is more than that.

    Robinson Erhardt

  • I need to tell you something.

    I'm Not Gay : A Musical (2023)

  • And I can't wait to tell him that it was us.

  • Why didn't you tell me she was there?

    #No_Filter (2022)

  • Self-care is personal; no one else can tell you what you need to do for yourself.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

to say
vsto tell
∞ 1.0

Speak words to show information or feelings

is about making information known in any way, not only spoken
to share
vsto tell
∞ 1.0

To tell someone about your thoughts, feelings or experiences

is more about making something known than two-way exchange
to announce
vsto tell
∞ 1.5

To tell people officially about something, often in public

is the everyday act of making information known, not always public
to declare
vsto tell
  • Formal
937 3.7

To officially tell other people or officials about something

can apply privately and does not require public declaration
to communicate
vsto tell
749 2.3

Share information, ideas, or feelings with someone

focuses on one-way making known rather than mutual exchange
to inform
vsto tell
682 1.0

To tell someone about a fact or situation

is broader, covering any act of making something known
to let me know
vsto tell
663 1.8

Tell me when something changes or you have news

is the direct act of making information known rather than requesting it
to notify
vsto tell
  • Formal
342 3.1

Tell someone about something, often in an official way

is used in both official and everyday telling situations
to disclose
vsto tell
245 4.1

To tell people information that was secret

can be used for normal information, not only revealing secrets
to state
vsto tell
225 1.6

To say or write something clearly and officially

is less formal and covers general acts of making known
to let us know
vsto tell
176 1.0

To tell us something so we can answer

is the act of providing information rather than asking for it
to advise
vsto tell
  • Formal
107 2.7

Tell someone officially about something

can be informal or formal and is not always advisory
to divulge
vsto tell
52 6.2

To tell secret or private information to people

is broader and includes ordinary, nonsecret sharing of information
to apprise
vsto tell
  • Formal
19 7.4

To tell someone about news or a change

is more general than formal notification, covering casual informing
to reveal
vsto tell
7 7.4

Make hidden truth known by a god or spirit

is secular and covers everyday telling without divine implication

Antonyms

to keep a secret
206 2.6

To not tell anyone private information

to withhold
204 5.1

Refuse to give something someone wants or needs

Idioms

let me tell you
  • Informal
678 4.4

To start a story or show that what follows is important

to tell the truth
  • Informal
292 3.2

To say something that is true even if it is surprising

tell you the truth
  • Informal
265 4.5

Say you are being honest before you speak

time will tell
32 3.3

What happens becomes clear later

pray tell
  • Informal
24 8.8

A polite, often joking way to ask for information after a surprising statement

to tell a tale
14 3.5

Say a story about something that happened or show signs of it

to tell tales out of school
  • Informal
2 8.4

To tell secrets about someone to other people

to tell it to the judge
  • Informal
1 8.7

Make an excuse that nobody believes and only a judge cares about

to tell someone where to shove it
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Rudely say to someone that you want them to go away

to tell it to the marines
  • Archaic
1 9.6

Say you do not believe someone's story

to tell its own tale
1 7.2

To show its history without using words

does Macy's tell Gimbel's?
  • Archaic
9.9

A question people use to show someone would not tell a rival or that something will not happen

piss on my leg and tell me it's raining
  • Offensive
9.9

To lie to someone in an obvious way while expecting them to believe it

Phrasal Verbs

to tell the truth
∞ 2.7

Say what really happened without hiding facts or lying

to tell stories
∞ 1.4

Talk about events, real or imagined, to other people

to tell a story
283 1.1

To describe things that happened, real or made up, to other people

to tell all
  • Literature
146 5.6

Say all private things about a person or event

to tell on
  • Informal
47 4.4

To report to a person in charge that someone did something wrong so they get in trouble

to tell apart
34 3.0

To notice a difference between two similar things

to tell off
  • Informal
20 4.2

To speak angrily to someone for doing something wrong

to tell fortunes
11 7.6

Say what will happen to someone by reading palms, cards, or tea leaves

to tell on
1 6.2

To hurt the body or mind over time

Compounds

tell-all book
  • Literature
6 4.7

A book that reveals private details about people

How Informative

to announce
∞ 1.5
to inform
682 1.0
to tell
∞ 1.0
to mention
∞ 1.0
to suggest
∞ 2.1
to hint
119 2.0

Surface Forms

tell infinitive
telling present participle
tells third person singular
told past
told past participle

Etymology

Tell comes from an old English word tellan that meant 'to count' or 'to relate', and over time it came to mean 'to say' or make something known. That's why we use tell when we give someone information.