Dictionary entry details
• TELL (noun)
Meaning:
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)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
Tell; William Tell
Instance hypernyms:
archer; bowman (a person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow)
• TELL (verb)
Meaning:
Express in words
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
say; state; tell
Context examples:
He said that he wanted to marry her / tell me what is bothering you / state your opinion / state your name
Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):
express; give tongue to; utter; verbalise; verbalize (articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):
give (convey or reveal information)
explain (define)
add; append; supply (state or say further)
mention; note; observe; remark (make mention of)
declare (make a declaration (of dutiable goods) to a customs official)
declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)
get out (express with difficulty)
articulate; enunciate; vocalise; vocalize (express or state clearly)
announce; declare (announce publicly or officially)
introduce; precede; preface; premise (furnish with a preface or introduction)
answer; reply; respond (reply or respond to)
misstate (state something incorrectly)
lay out; present; represent (bring forward and present to the mind)
sum; sum up; summarise; summarize (be a summary of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Sentence example:
They tell that there was a traffic accident
Meaning:
Let something be known
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Context example:
Tell them that you will be late
Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):
inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state or affairs, or event to)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):
give; impart; leave; pass on (tell or deposit (information) knowledge)
announce; annunciate; foretell; harbinger; herald (foreshadow or presage)
propagandise; propagandize (subject to propaganda)
ingeminate; iterate; reiterate; repeat; restate; retell (to say, state, or perform again)
air; bare; publicise; publicize (make public)
spill; talk (reveal information)
break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; impart; let on; let out; reveal; unwrap (make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret)
bespeak; betoken; indicate; point; signal (be a signal for or a symptom of)
digress; divagate; stray; wander (lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Also:
tell off (reprimand)
Meaning:
Narrate or give a detailed account of
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
recount; narrate; tell; recite
Context examples:
Tell what happened / The father told a story to his child
Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):
inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state or affairs, or event to)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):
rhapsodise; rhapsodize (recite a rhapsody)
yarn (tell or spin a yarn)
crack (tell spontaneously)
relate (give an account of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Sentence example:
They won't tell the story
Meaning:
Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
order; enjoin; tell; say
Context examples:
I said to him to go home / She ordered him to do the shopping / The mother told the child to get dressed
Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):
request (ask (a person) to do something)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):
warn (ask to go away)
call; send for (order, request, or command to come)
command; compel; require (make someone do something)
instruct (give instructions or directions for some task)
direct (command with authority)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Sentence example:
They tell him to write the letter
Meaning:
Discern or comprehend
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Context example:
He could tell that she was unhappy
Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):
guess; infer (guess correctly; solve by guessing)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Meaning:
Inform positively and with certainty and confidence
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
assure; tell
Context example:
I tell you that man is a crook!
Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):
affirm; assert; aver; avow; swan; swear; verify (to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody of something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Meaning:
Give evidence
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
evidence; tell
Context example:
he was telling on all his former colleague
Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):
inform (act as an informer)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Also:
tell apart (detect with the senses)
Meaning:
Mark as different
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Synonyms:
differentiate; distinguish; secern; secernate; tell apart; severalize; severalise; separate; tell
Context example:
We distinguish several kinds of maple
Hypernyms (to "tell" is one way to...):
identify; place (recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something)
"Tell" entails doing...:
compare (examine and note the similarities or differences of)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tell"):
know (be able to distinguish, recognize as being different)
stratify (divide society into social classes or castes)
discriminate; separate; single out (treat differently on the basis of sex or race)
demarcate (separate clearly and as if by boundaries)
decouple; dissociate (regard as unconnected)
contradistinguish (distinguish by contrasting qualities)
severalise; severalize (distinguish or separate)
contrast (put in opposition to show or emphasize differences)
individualise; individualize (make or mark or treat as individual)
sex (tell the sex (of young chickens))
label (distinguish (as a compound or molecule) by introducing a labeled atom)
label (distinguish (an element or atom) by using a radioactive isotope or an isotope of unusual mass for tracing through chemical reactions)
discriminate; know apart (recognize or perceive the difference)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s something from somebody
