Tell
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
Tell
n 1: a Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who
was renowned for his skill as an archer; according to
legend an Austrian governor compelled him to shoot an apple
from his son's head with his crossbow (which he did
successfully without mishap) [syn: {Tell}, {William Tell}]
v 1: express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her";
"tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion";
"state your name" [syn: {state}, {say}, {tell}]
2: let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late"
3: narrate or give a detailed account of; "Tell what happened";
"The father told a story to his child" [syn: {tell},
{narrate}, {recount}, {recite}]
4: give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with
authority; "I said to him to go home"; "She ordered him to do
the shopping"; "The mother told the child to get dressed"
[syn: {order}, {tell}, {enjoin}, {say}]
5: discern or comprehend; "He could tell that she was unhappy"
6: inform positively and with certainty and confidence; "I tell
you that man is a crook!" [syn: {assure}, {tell}]
7: give evidence; "he was telling on all his former colleague"
[syn: {tell}, {evidence}]
8: mark as different; "We distinguish several kinds of maple"
[syn: {distinguish}, {separate}, {differentiate}, {secern},
{secernate}, {severalize}, {severalise}, {tell}, {tell
apart}]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Tell \Tell\ (t[e^]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Told} (t[=o]ld); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Telling}.] [AS. tellan, from talu tale, number,
speech; akin to D. tellen to count, G. z[aum]hlen, OHG.
zellen to count, tell, say, Icel. telja, Dan. tale to speak,
t[ae]lle to count. See {Tale} that which is told.]
1. To mention one by one, or piece by piece; to recount; to
enumerate; to reckon; to number; to count; as, to tell
money. "An heap of coin he told." --Spenser.
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He telleth the number of the stars. --Ps. cxlvii.
4.
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Tell the joints of the body. --Jer. Taylor.
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2. To utter or recite in detail; to give an account of; to
narrate.
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Of which I shall tell all the array. --Chaucer.
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And not a man appears to tell their fate. --Pope.
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3. To make known; to publish; to disclose; to divulge.
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Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
--Gen. xii.
18.
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4. To give instruction to; to make report to; to acquaint; to
teach; to inform.
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A secret pilgrimage,
That you to-day promised to tell me of? --Shak.
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5. To order; to request; to command.
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He told her not to be frightened. --Dickens.
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6. To discern so as to report; to ascertain by observing; to
find out; to discover; as, I can not tell where one color
ends and the other begins.
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7. To make account of; to regard; to reckon; to value; to
estimate. [Obs.]
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I ne told no dainity of her love. --Chaucer.
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Note: Tell, though equivalent in some respect to speak and
say, has not always the same application. We say, to
tell truth or falsehood, to tell a number, to tell the
reasons, to tell something or nothing; but we never
say, to tell a speech, discourse, or oration, or to
tell an argument or a lesson. It is much used in
commands; as, tell me the whole story; tell me all you
know.
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{To tell off}, to count; to divide. --Sir W. Scott.
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Syn: To communicate; impart; reveal; disclose; inform;
acquaint; report; repeat; rehearse; recite.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Tell \Tell\, v. i.
1. To give an account; to make report.
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That I may publish with the voice of thankgiving,
and tell of all thy wondrous works. --Ps. xxvi. 7.
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2. To take effect; to produce a marked effect; as, every shot
tells; every expression tells.
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{To tell of}.
(a) To speak of; to mention; to narrate or describe.
(b) To inform against; to disclose some fault of.
{To tell on}, to inform against. [Archaic & Colloq.]
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Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David.
--1 Sam.
xxvii. 11.
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from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
309 Moby Thesaurus words for "tell":
acknowledge, acquaint, admit, advertise, advertise of, advise,
affect, air, allegorize, amount to something, announce, apprise,
approve, argue, articulate, ascertain, assert, asseverate, attest,
aver, barrow, be effective, be featured, be influential,
be persuasive, be prominent, be somebody, be something, berate,
bespeak, betoken, betray, bid, blab, break, break it to,
break the news, breathe, brief, bring out, bring to light,
bring word, broadcast, call off, call over, call the roll,
carry weight, castigate, censure, census, charge, chew out, chide,
chime, chime in, chorus, clue, come home to, come out with,
command, communicate, confess, confide, confide to, confirm,
connote, convey, count, cut ice, cut some ice, declare, delineate,
deliver, demonstrate, denote, depict, describe, determine,
differentiate, direct, discern, disclose, discover, discriminate,
display, disseminate, distinguish, divulgate, divulge, emit,
enjoin, enlighten, enumerate, enunciate, evidence, evince,
evulgate, exhibit, explain, express, fable, fabulize, familiarize,
fictionalize, fill in, fling off, foliate, forecast, foresee,
foretell, formulate, furnish evidence, get across, get over,
get top billing, give, give a report, give away, give expression,
give indication of, give notice, give out, give out with,
give the facts, give tidings of, give tongue, give utterance,
give vent to, give voice, give word, go to show, hand on, have,
have an in, have full play, have influence, have personality,
have pull, herald, hillock, hint at, hit, hit the mark, identify,
illustrate, impart, imply, import, impress, impress forcibly,
indicate, inform, instruct, intimate, involve, know, know again,
leak, leave word, lecture, let get around, let in on, let know,
let out, let slip, lip, make an impression, make known, make out,
manifest, mark, matter, measure, mention, mention to, militate,
mound, mouth, mythicize, mythify, mythologize, nail, narrate,
notify, novelize, number, numerate, order, out with, outline, page,
paginate, pass, pass along, pass on, peach, peg, perceive, phonate,
phrase, place, point to, poll, portray, post, pour forth, predict,
present, proclaim, pronounce, prophesy, publish, put, put forth,
put in words, quantify, quantize, raise, rat, realize, rebuke,
recall knowledge of, recite, recognize, recount, refer to,
rehearse, reidentify, relate, release, render, report, reprimand,
reproach, reprove, require, retell, reveal, rock, romance, rumor,
run over, say, scold, send, send word, serve notice, set forth,
share, share with, show, show signs of, signal, signalize, signify,
sink in, smite, sound, speak, speak for itself, speak volumes,
spill, spill the beans, spot, squeak, squeal, stand out, star,
state, storify, strike, strike hard, strike home, suggest, swear,
symptomatize, take to task, tale, talk, tally, tattle, tattle on,
tell a story, tell off, tell on, tend to show, throw off,
throw out, tick off, touch on, transfer, transmit, traumatize,
trumpet, tumulus, understand, unfold a tale, utter, vent,
ventilate, verbalize, verse, vocalize, voice, warn, weigh, whisper,
word, write up
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