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

to tell

∞ 1.0
Order someone to do something
  • verb
  • /tɛl/
: ordenar
  • Each one gets a card, and he tells them to call him later that day.
  • tell the truth
  • tell your mom
  • tell your lawyers

Very simply, I'm going to tell you to go deep.

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Examples

  • How dare you tell me to do this?

  • At some point in the introduction, teachers tell students the goals for the lesson.

    Academic text (2011)

  • During my study, I asked Nick to tell me what he did when he noticed a mistake.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Never let anybody tell you that you can't.

  • You can't tell me how to run my business.

    Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet 3D (2014)

  • You translators ought to tell the foreigners that.

  • The manager will tell the team what their responsibilities are for the project.

  • During the meeting, the teacher will tell the students how to complete their assignments.

  • Before the event starts, the coordinator will tell everyone when to begin.

Synonyms

to order
vsto tell
∞ 1.3

To tell someone to do something in an official way

is an authoritative instruction without the sharp force of a formal command
to direct
vsto tell
239 1.6

To tell someone what to do or show them the way

is specifically an authority instruction, not just general guidance or directions
to instruct
vsto tell
204 2.8

To tell someone to do something, often as an order

gives authority to act rather than focusing on procedural steps
to enjoin
vsto tell
  • Formal
13 8.6

To officially order someone to do or not do something, often by a court

is an authoritative instruction that applies to actions generally, not just bans

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 Authoritative

to command
312 2.7
to instruct
204 2.8
to tell
∞ 1.0
to ask
∞ 1.0
to request
808 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

Tell comes from the same old English root tellan meaning 'to say' or 'to count', so to tell someone to do something is simply to 'say' it to them as an instruction. That's why tell can mean to give orders or directions.