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tattletale

[ tat-l-teyl ]
/ ˈtæt lˌteɪl /
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See synonyms for: tattletale / tattletales on Thesaurus.com
noun
a talebearer or informer, especially among children.
adjective
telltale; revealing: a tattletale smear of lipstick on his collar.
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Origin of tattletale

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; tattle + tale

Words nearby tattletale

tattie-bogle, tattie-peelin, tatting, tattle, tattler, tattletale, tattletale gray, tattoo, tattva, tat tvam asi, tatty
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to tattletale

blabber, blabbermouth, busybody, canary, fink, gossip, informer, nark, quidnunc, rat, rumormonger, scandalmonger, snitch, squeaker, squealer, stoolie, tabby, talebearer, taleteller, tattler

How to use tattletale in a sentence

  • Course, I didn't need to worry, because Stinky told them all right, just like a tattletale.

    We Didn't Do Anything Wrong, Hardly|Roger Kuykendall

  • That First Lieutenant of ours either has eyes in the back of his head or else the Sergeant is a tattletale.

    Conscript 2989|Irving Crump

  • He wanted a dog to help him hunt, but he did not want a tattletale.

    The Magic Speech Flower|Melvin Hix

British Dictionary definitions for tattletale

tattletale
/ (ˈtætəlˌteɪl) /
noun mainly US and Canadian
a scandalmonger or gossip
another word for telltale (def. 1)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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