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telling

telling

92 2.7
The act of saying what happened or giving facts to others
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛlɪŋ/
translation icon : narración
  • I am an independent woman, a scholar; I study tale-telling and narratology.
  • story-telling
  • truth-telling
  • original telling

I'm not a fan of telling people what we want upfront.

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Examples

  • Details that are perceived as irrelevant are dropped out with each successive telling of the story.

    Academic text (1993)
  • His family owned a piece of him, he knew, with each telling of the story.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • There is a conviction in the telling that is working on Joey.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • We lose ourselves in the story itself and disregard the telling of it.

    Academic text (2017)
  • From the opening lines, John personalizes his telling, inserting elements to connect the narrative to his life.

    Academic text (2017)
  • In contrast, destruction and loss are the central themes in John's much shorter telling.

    Academic text (2017)
  • LaTonya is unsettled by the passion of Jasmine's telling, her hands frozen over her tiny pile of crawfish.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The child's telling of the story captivated everyone in the audience.

  • Her telling of the events provided important insight into what happened.

  • His telling of the experience was both engaging and informative.

Synonyms

report
vstelling
1.3

A written or spoken account that gives information about something

is less formal and covers any act of giving information or narrating
talking
vstelling
504 1.0

An activity of sharing ideas or information by speaking to someone

is mainly about providing information or narrating, not general conversation
disclosure
vstelling
176 4.1

Making secret or new information known to others

is general information giving and does not require novelty or secrecy
storytelling
vstelling
98 2.9

The act of telling stories to entertain or teach people

is the general act of giving information without the artistic intent
relation
vstelling
38 3.9

A spoken or written description of what happened

is wider, also meaning simple giving of information not only events
narration
vstelling
23 3.4

Telling a story or describing events

is broader and also covers general information beyond event accounts
retelling
vstelling
13 3.0

A new version of a story that has been told before

covers giving information generally rather than repeating earlier accounts
speaking
vstelling
4 1.0

The act of talking to other people, for example giving a speech

emphasizes narration content rather than the physical act of vocalising
recounting
vstelling
3 3.8

An account of events told in detail

is less focused on event detail and more on simple information giving
communicating
vstelling
1 2.4

Sharing information, thoughts, or feelings with others

focuses more narrowly on one-way narration rather than two-way exchange
oral communication
vstelling
1 3.2

To talk to share ideas or information with others

is the general act of giving information by any medium
narratio
vstelling
9.9

A spoken or written story that explains events

is the more general act of giving information
informing
vstelling
2.5

Giving people information they need to know

is more focused on narrating or describing events rather than general conveying
imparting
vstelling
4.2

An act of giving information or skills to other people

is about giving information rather than teaching skills
informance
vstelling
8.1

The act of telling people facts or details

is broader and can include storytelling or expressive narration

Idioms

153 8.5

To say this to show you strongly agree with an obvious or unpleasant point

9.9

A question you say to show you already know that fact

Compounds

A way of finding out what will happen to someone in the future using mysterious methods

Openly honest and saying facts people hide

The act of being honest when it is difficult

How Detailed

account
466 3.0
telling
92 2.7
comment
1.0
mention
220 2.5

Surface Forms

telling singular
tellings plural

Morphology

telling = tell (transparent) = tell + ing

This noun is a gerund/nominalization formed by '-ing' on the verb 'tell', directly meaning 'the act of telling'.

Etymology

The word telling as a noun comes from the verb tell, meaning 'to say' or 'to tell a story'. So it simply means the act of giving information or telling a story.