How does the verb tell differ from other similar words?
Some common synonyms of tell are betray, disclose, divulge, and reveal. While all these words mean «to make known what has been or should be concealed,» tell implies an imparting of necessary or useful information.
told them what he had overheard
Where would betray be a reasonable alternative to tell?
While in some cases nearly identical to tell, betray implies a divulging that represents a breach of faith or an involuntary or unconscious disclosure.
a blush that betrayed her embarrassment
When would disclose be a good substitute for tell?
The words disclose and tell can be used in similar contexts, but disclose may imply a discovering but more often an imparting of information previously kept secret.
candidates must disclose their financial assets
When might divulge be a better fit than tell?
Although the words divulge and tell have much in common, divulge implies a disclosure involving some impropriety or breach of confidence.
refused to divulge an anonymous source
In what contexts can reveal take the place of tell?
The meanings of reveal and tell largely overlap; however, reveal may apply to supernatural or inspired revelation of truths beyond the range of ordinary human vision or reason.
divine will as revealed in sacred writings
English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes
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tell
To announce is to give intelligence of in some formal or public way. We may announce that which has occurred or that which is to occur, tho the word is chiefly used in the anticipative sense; we announce a book when it is in press, a guest when he arrives. We advertise our business, communicate our intentions, enunciate our views; we notify an individual, give notice to the public. Declare has often an authoritative force; to declare war is to cause war to be, where before there may have been only hostilities; we say declare war, proclaim peace. We propound a question or an argument, promulgate the views of a sect or party, or the decision of a court, etc. We report an interview, reveal a secret, herald the coming of some distinguished person or great event. Publish, in popular usage, is becoming closely restricted to the sense of issuing through the press; we announce a book that is to be published.
Synonyms:
advertise, announce, circulate, communicate, declare, enunciate, give notice (of), give out, herald, make known, notify, proclaim, promulgate, propound, publish, report, reveal, say, spread abroad, stateAntonyms:
bury, conceal, cover (up), hide, hush, keep back, keep secret, secrete, suppress, withholdPreposition:
The event was announced to the family by telegraph.
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.5 / 2 votes
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tell
Synonyms:
mention, number, enumerate, count, recount, utter, recite, state, narrate, disclose, publish, betray, divulge, promulgate, acquaint, teach, inform, explain, communicate, report, rehearse, discern, judge, discriminate, ascertain, decide, describeAntonyms:
repress, suppress, misrecount, misnarrate, miscommunicate, misdeclare, misrecite, misjudge, misdescribe
Princeton’s WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes
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Tell, William Tellverb
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)
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state, say, tellverb
express in words
«He said that he wanted to marry her»; «tell me what is bothering you»; «state your opinion»; «state your name»
Synonyms:
enunciate, express, sound out, aver, recite, enounce, distinguish, recount, secern, state, say, narrate, evidence, suppose, submit, articulate, assure, put forward, posit, severalise, separate, pronounce, enjoin, severalize, secernate, allege, read, tell apart, differentiate, order -
tellverb
let something be known
«Tell them that you will be late»
Synonyms:
distinguish, recite, differentiate, say, recount, state, narrate, evidence, assure, severalise, enjoin, severalize, secernate, secern, tell apart, separate, order -
tell, narrate, recount, reciteverb
narrate or give a detailed account of
«Tell what happened»; «The father told a story to his child»
Synonyms:
distinguish, recite, itemise, differentiate, say, recount, state, narrate, evidence, retell, assure, itemize, severalise, declaim, enjoin, severalize, secernate, secern, tell apart, separate, order, enumerate -
order, tell, enjoin, sayverb
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»
Synonyms:
tell apart, distinguish, dictate, suppose, place, ordain, put, differentiate, read, pronounce, range, enjoin, enounce, enunciate, evidence, regulate, state, assure, say, govern, severalize, arrange, separate, regularize, severalise, ordinate, regularise, grade, aver, articulate, secern, set up, allege, rank, consecrate, rate, recite, narrate, recount, sound out, prescribe, order, secernate -
tellverb
discern or comprehend
«He could tell that she was unhappy»
Synonyms:
distinguish, recite, differentiate, say, recount, state, narrate, evidence, assure, severalise, enjoin, severalize, secernate, secern, tell apart, separate, order -
assure, tellverb
inform positively and with certainty and confidence
«I tell you that man is a crook!»
Synonyms:
tell apart, ensure, reassure, state, say, severalize, recount, control, narrate, promise, enjoin, check, guarantee, secern, differentiate, severalise, separate, recite, ascertain, assure, secernate, see to it, distinguish, insure, order, evidence, secure, see -
tell, evidenceverb
give evidence
«he was telling on all his former colleague»
Synonyms:
distinguish, demonstrate, recite, certify, differentiate, testify, say, recount, prove, state, bear witness, narrate, evidence, assure, severalise, enjoin, severalize, secernate, secern, tell apart, separate, order, manifest, show, attest -
distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern, secernate, severalize, severalise, tell, tell apartverb
mark as different
«We distinguish several kinds of maple»
Synonyms:
tell apart, distinguish, classify, discriminate, spot, mark, differentiate, sort, signalise, enjoin, split up, key out, evidence, break up, divide, come apart, single out, part, state, pick out, order, carve up, key, severalize, split, assure, speciate, separate, fall apart, severalise, furcate, dissever, signalize, assort, specialize, recount, class, identify, make out, specialise, branch, discern, secern, recognize, recite, name, disunite, recognise, narrate, describe, break, sort out, ramify, fork, discover, secernate, say
Matched Categories
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- Affirm
- Express
- Guess
- Identify
- Inform
- Request
Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes
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tellverb
Synonyms:
express, utter, speak, state, mention, communicate, publish, speak of, make mention of -
tellverb
Synonyms:
relate, recount, rehearse, narrate, describe, report, give an account of -
tellverb
Synonyms:
inform, teach, instruct, acquaint, apprise, make known to, explain to, disclose to, communicate to, make known to -
tellverb
Synonyms:
disclose, reveal, divulge, confess, betray, acknowledge, own, declare, make known -
tellverb
Synonyms:
number, count, enumerate, compute, reckon, take an account of, run over, sum up, call over -
tellverb
Synonyms:
discern, discover, make out, distinguish -
tellverb
Synonyms:
give account, make report -
tellverb
Synonyms:
take effect, be effective, hit the nail on the head
Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes
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tellverb
Synonyms:
mention, recount, relate, narrate, enumerate, advise, inform, recite, disclose, bruit, divulge, proclaim, expose, apprise, peach, communicate, acquaint, notify, reveal, discernAntonyms:
suppress, reserve, withhold, forbear
PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes
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List of paraphrases for «tell»:
say, mean, teii, saying, dis, inform, telling, said, know, explain, talk, announce, this, speak, told
Suggested Resources
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TELL
What does TELL stand for? — Explore the various meanings for the TELL acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
How to pronounce tell?
How to say tell in sign language?
How to use tell in a sentence?
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Melissa Klein:
This man has no power over me, he seems to think he can tell me to be quiet. That doesn’t sit well with me and I refuse to comply.
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New York:
The decision from Assembly Democrats to suspend the impeachment investigation reeks of a shady deal to protect Andrew Cuomo, resignation is not accountability. The Democrats not only failed in their constitutional responsibilities — they failed the Governor’s countless victims in nursing homes, brave women who came forward to tell their stories, and those who believe in honest and transparent government.
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Guanyu Huang:
If we combine all the data from all the cities together, Salt Lake City will be helpful for all levels of government from state level, federal level to create some climate resilience plan for the entire country. So, that’s what we can do through here. we can use it to do research, to teach your climate change classes, to tell the people that climate change is actually right there, it’s just next to our neighborhood.
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Mohamed Abdeslam:
I would tell him to surrender. That’s the best solution, but of course, if he has something to do with it, he must accept responsibility.
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Sarah Kate Ellis:
Hollywood must recognize that LGBT people are worthy of depictions crafted with care and humanity, and we should be part of the stories they tell.
Translations for tell
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- أخبرArabic
- explicar, dirCatalan, Valencian
- říciCzech
- erzählen, sagenGerman
- καταλαβαίνω, λέωGreek
- decir, contarSpanish
- käskeä, kertoa, määrätäFinnish
- direFrench
- abair leIrish
- innisScottish Gaelic
- הבין, הבדיל, הגיד, אמרHebrew
- ասելArmenian
- segjaIcelandic
- insegnare, dire, raccontareItalian
- 教える, 言う, 述べるJapanese
- ಹೇಳಿKannada
- amen dicoLatin
- stāstītLatvian
- кажува, разликуваMacedonian
- vertellen, zeggen, instruerenDutch
- fortelleNorwegian
- powiedziećPolish
- contarPortuguese
- сказать, различать, различить, приказать, говоритьRussian
- máinnastit, muitalit, bagadallatNorthern Sami
- säga åt, tala om, berätta, säga till, säga, avgöraSwedish
- บอกThai
Get even more translations for tell »
Translation
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Citation
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Are we missing a good synonym for tell?
What is another word for Tell?
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words, give the game away
Use filters to view other words, we have 2347 synonyms for tell.
If you know synonyms for Tell, then you can share it or put your rating in listed similar words.
- APA
- MLA
- CMS
- advise
- announce
- confess
- declare
- disclose
- explain
- express
- inform
- instruct
- mention
- notify
- order
- report
- reveal
- say
- speak
- state
- summon
- acquaint
- apprise
- authorize
- bid
- command
- direct
- divulge
- enjoin
- impart
- leak
- level
- proclaim
- recite
- represent
- require
- utter
- break the news
- call upon
- clue in
- fill in
- give facts
- give out
- keep posted
- lay open
- leave word
- let in on
- let know
- let slip
- make known
- open up
- put before
- reel off
- spit it out
- express
- portray
- recount
- report
- speak
- state
- chronicle
- depict
- rehearse
- relate
- give an account of
- set forth
- identify
- know
- learn
- see
- ascertain
- clinch
- comprehend
- deduce
- determine
- differentiate
- discover
- discriminate
- distinguish
- divine
- perceive
- recognize
- be sure
- find out
- know for certain
- make out
- count
- militate
- register
- weigh
- have effect
- have force
- make presence felt
- make presence known
- take effect
- take its toll
- compute
- count
- enumerate
- number
- numerate
- reckon
- tale
- tally
- count one by one
On this page you’ll find 283 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to tell, such as: advise, announce, confess, declare, disclose, and explain.
- conceal
- hide
- estimate
- figure
- guess
- listen
- misunderstand
- overlook
- confuse
- misinterpret
- miss
- misunderstand
- mix up
- estimate
- figure
- guess
- listen
- ignore
- estimate
- figure
- guess
- listen
- misunderstand
- estimate
- guess
- subtract
- figure
- listen
- misunderstand
Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
TRY USING tell
See how your sentence looks with different synonyms.
How to use tell in a sentence
SYNONYM OF THE DAY
OCTOBER 26, 1985
WORDS RELATED TO TELL
- accustom
- advise
- apprise
- bring out
- clue
- come out with
- disclose
- divulge
- enlighten
- familiarize
- fill in
- fix up
- get-together
- habituate
- inform
- intro
- introduce
- knock down
- let know
- make familiar
- notify
- post
- present
- reveal
- tell
- warn
- accustoming
- advising
- apprising
- bringing out
- cluing
- coming out with
- disclosing
- divulging
- enlightening
- familiarizing
- filling in
- fixing up
- getting together
- habituating
- informing
- introducing
- introing
- knocking down
- letting knowing
- making familiar
- notifying
- posting
- presenting
- revealing
- telling
- warning
- accept
- accord
- acquiesce
- adopt
- affirm
- agree
- allow
- approve
- avow
- bare
- bring to light
- communicate
- concede
- concur
- confide
- confirm
- consent
- cop a plea
- credit
- declare
- disclose
- divulge
- enumerate
- expose
- go into details
- grant
- indicate
- let
- let on
- make known
- narrate
- number
- open up
- own
- own up
- permit
- proclaim
- profess
- recite
- recognize
- relate
- reveal
- spill
- subscribe to
- talk
- tell
- tolerate
- uncover
- unveil
- yield
- accepts
- blesses
- buys
- concedes
- enters
- entertains
- gives access
- gives the nod
- gives thumbs up
- grants
- harbors
- houses
- initiates
- introduces
- is big on
- lets
- lets in
- lodges
- o.k.’s
- permits
- receives
- shelters
- signs
- signs off on
- suffers
- takes
- takes in
- acquaint
- apprise
- clue
- clue in
- fill in
- give the word
- inform
- keep posted
- lay it out
- let in on
- make known
- notify
- post
- put next to
- put on the line
- put on to
- report
- show
- tell
- tip off
- update
- warn
- admonishes
- advocates
- cautions
- charges
- commends
- counsels
- directs
- dissuades
- encourages
- enjoins
- exhorts
- forewarns
- gives a pointer
- gives a tip
- guides
- instructs
- kibitzes
- levels with
- moves
- opines
- points out
- preaches
- prepares
- prescribes
- prompts
- puts bug in ear
- puts in two cents
- recommends
- steers
- suggests
- touts
- updates
- urges
- warns
Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
What is another word for tell?
3336 synonyms found
Pronunciation:
[ tˈɛl], [ tˈɛl], [ t_ˈɛ_l]
How to use «Tell» in context?
«tell» is a verb meaning «to inform, convey, or impart information to (someone),» as well as «to declare openly; avow.» Oftentimes, «tell» is used informally to refer to announcements or small talk. For example, after the announcement of the winner, the guests might say, «Well, tell us, who won?» This usage of «tell» is often seen as less serious or formal than «declare.» In some cases, «tell» can also be used as a verb meaning «to make sexual advances toward.