ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Telling

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈtɛlɪŋ/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Telling is a verb meaning present participle and gerund of tell.

Meaning

present participle and gerund of tell.

More Meanings

  1. Having force, or having a marked effect; weighty, effective.
  2. Revealing information; bearing significance.
  3. Serving to convince.
  4. The act of narration.
  5. The disclosure of information.
  6. (archaic) Counting, numbering.
  7. (chiefly in the negative) Ability to determine.

Example Sentences

a telling blow
a telling smile
telling evidence
"One white man." said Bill, after a brief inspection. "Out on his line, I s'pose, and there's no tellin' when he'll be back. So we won't wait. We'll just serve notice on him."

Word Forms

Synonyms for telling

Depending on context, synonyms include enumeration, cogent, impressive, efficacious, relation, effectual.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include forceful, impressive, effective, effectual, efficacious, revealing.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.