retell
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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retellsimple
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retellssimple
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have retoldperfect
-
has retoldperfect
-
am retellingprogressive
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are retellingprogressive
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is retellingprogressive
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have been retellingperfect progressive
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has been retellingperfect progressive
Past
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retoldsimple
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had retoldperfect
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was retellingprogressive
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were retellingprogressive
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had been retellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of retell
Explanation
If you recite your story a second time, you retell it. After they hear about how you actually slipped on a banana peel, your laughing friends may beg you to retell the incident over and over again. To retell is to reiterate something, or to tell it again. You might retell your favorite joke every time you have a new audience, or you may find yourself having to retell the details of a fender bender you witnessed once the police show up. When a writer takes up an old theme or story to put their own new twist on it, they retell it: "My goal was to retell the classic Cinderella tale in a modern way."
Vocabulary lists containing retell
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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Conventions, Writing to Sources, and Speaking & Listening, Unit 1
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Part 3 Vocabulary (Unit 4)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Anthony Puzo, Mario Puzo's son, told Publishers Weekly: "We had been looking for someone to retell the story from a new perspective."
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
With such vividly realized characters, the Coens portray a truth far larger than the crimes they purport to retell.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
Now “Five Bullets,” by Elliot Williams, and “Fear and Fury,” by Heather Ann Thompson, retell the story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
In the years since Gemma first went to the police, she has had to retell her story to more than 20 different officers, she says.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2025
Our world had been turned upside down, and now we had to retell our horror story.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Giant, the new film starring Pierce Brosnan and Amir El-Masry, retells the coach and fighter's relationship.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
He retells the tale in his 1994 autobiography, “American Prince.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
As she retells the highs and lows of the relationship through the nightly set list, she’s faced with a decision.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2024
Watch: “The Book of Clarence” retells the story of Jesus with irreverence, and also devotion.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2024
In other words, the song relives and retells the experiences of a child in another century and makes her story highly relatable to us today.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Instead, it will be retold as something far more epic than that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
It’s a story that’s been retold in recent weeks amid the Andes virus outbreak on a cruise ship to show how outbreaks sometimes lead to scientific breakthroughs.
From MarketWatch ● May 17, 2026
She’s made something different from your typical adaptation, a movie that brings a fresh perspective to a very old and frequently retold tale.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2026
Now, as it celebrates its centenary, staff have been looking back on the company's role in developing a treatment for a rare degenerative condition affecting young boys – a story retold in a Hollywood film.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2025
He told and retold the story of the children of Israel, and how they escaped from bondage, to a group of slaves who were his followers.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
Throughout his lively retelling of the story, he added a series of sound effects to move the story line — among them, wacha, pum, pum, pum, gol.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Hugh Jackman plays Robin Hood in his final days, a loose retelling of a 500-year-old ballad, and seems to have ancient dirt creased into his wrinkles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
His movie is a remarkable piece of autofiction, retelling his first experience with air travel as if it were a love story.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
Luail is an all-Ireland professional dance company and Trojans is an up-to-date retelling of The Aeneid, complete with electronic music and striking visuals.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
“Yes, in fact, we do. We have The Five Chinese Brothers—it’s a beautiful retelling of a famous Chinese folktale.”
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
