to tell the truth
814
2.7
- phrasal verb
- /tɛl ðə truθ/
:
decir la verdad
- When asked about the project's delays, she chose to tell the truth instead of making excuses.
- always tell the truth
- only tell the truth
- tell the truth, he says
What if we find new ways to tell the truth as opposed to lying?
- What if we find new ways to tell the truth as opposed to lying?
- I'm proud because I told the truth when it was especially hard.
- But it's my job to tell the truth about how a story works.
- And even in science you find that it's hard to tell the truth, right?
- My dad told me to tell the truth even when it's difficult.
- So the more words it takes to tell the truth, the more it sounds like a lie.
- Make a habit of telling the truth with love, even if it's hard.
Examples
-
My grandmother always told me, "Tell the truth and shame the devil."
Academic text (1992) -
Be kind to others and tell the truth to those you love.
Fiction book (1990) -
Will the person telling the truth please step forward?
-
But I think we need to tell the truth about that story first.
-
Well, then maybe we should just tell the truth.
-
Was the American public being told the truth?
-
The best thing would be to tell the truth, at least part of it.
Fiction book (1991) -
What if we find new ways to tell the truth as opposed to lying?
-
Well, to tell the truth, I'll be glad to get out of that cell.
-
How do I know you're telling the truth?
Synonyms
92
4.1
To say the truth about something you kept secret
42
3.2
Give the true facts to fix a wrong idea
40
6.2
Tell someone the truth about something difficult
7
3.4
Talk honestly without hiding facts or feelings
Antonyms
How Honest
- Informal
92
4.1
576
3.0
814
2.7
- Informal
5
5.3
- Informal
116
5.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to speak honestly and openly' is directly derived from combining 'tell' (to say/make known) with 'truth' (conformity to fact); the article 'the' is semantically light and does not obscure composition. This is a literal verb+noun construction common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily understand it.
Etymology
Tell the truth comes from the simple idea of saying facts out loud: to tell the truth, to say what really happened in front of other people, as when someone must speak in court. So today it means 'to speak honestly and openly'.