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Verb: tell (told)  tel
  1. Express in words
    "tell me what is bothering you";
    - state, say
     
  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";
    - narrate, recount, recite, retail[2]
     
  4. Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority
    "The mother told the child to get dressed";
    - order, 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!";
    - assure
     
  7. Give evidence
    "he was telling on all his former colleague";
    - evidence
     
  8. Mark as different
    "We tell apart several kinds of maple";
    - distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern [rare], secernate, severalize, severalise [Brit], tell apart
Noun: Tell  tel
  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)
    - William Tell

Derived forms: telling, tells, told

See also: distinguish, tell off

Type of: affirm, archer, assert, aver, avow, bowman, express, finger [informal], give tongue to, guess, identify, infer, inform, place, request, swear, utter, verbalise [Brit], verbalize, verify

Encyclopedia: Tell, West Bank