adj
Meaning 1
Having force, or having a marked effect; weighty, effective.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- a telling blow
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
telling
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈtɛlɪŋ/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛlɪŋ
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CMU ARPABET: T EH1 L IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Revealing information; bearing significance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- a telling smile
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Serving to convince.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- telling evidence
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
The act of narration.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
The disclosure of information.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
Counting, numbering.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
Ability to determine.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 8
present participle and gerund of tell
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 9
producing a strong effect
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- gave an impressive performance as Othello
- a telling gesture
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: impressive
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 10
disclosing unintentionally
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a telling smile
- a telltale panel of lights
- a telltale patch of oil on the water marked where the boat went down
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: revealing, telltale(a)
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 11
powerfully persuasive
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a cogent argument
- a telling presentation
- a weighty argument
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cogent, weighty
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 12
disclosing information or giving evidence about another
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: tattle, singing
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: disclosure, revelation, revealing
noun
Meaning 13
informing by words
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: apprisal, notification
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: informing, making known
Narrower terms: notice, warning
noun
Meaning 14
an act of narration
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- he was the hero according to his own relation
- his endless recounting of the incident eventually became unbearable
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: relation, recounting
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: narration, recital, yarn
History
Etymology
Gerund from the verb tell, from tell + -ing.
Across languages
Translations
6 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Finnish: paljonpuhuva — revealing information; bearing significance
- Finnish: kuvaava — revealing information; bearing significance
- Spanish: revelador — revealing information; bearing significance
- Spanish: expresivo — revealing information; bearing significance
- Spanish: indicante — revealing information; bearing significance
- Spanish: hablar más de la cuenta — revealing information; bearing significance
Real reading context