Tell (n.)

  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 sons head with his crossbow (which he did successfully without mishap)

    [ Syn: tell , william tell ]

    tell (v.)

  1. express in words; He said that he wanted to marry her; tell me what is bothering you; state your opinion; state your name

    [ Syn: 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

    [ Syn: narrate , recount , recite ]

  4. 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

    [ Syn: 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!

    [ Syn: assure ]

  7. give evidence; he was telling on all his former colleague

    [ Syn: evidence ]

  8. mark as different; We distinguish several kinds of maple

    [ Syn: distinguish , separate , differentiate , secern , secernate , severalize , severalise , tell apart ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.