adjective
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having a marked effect or impact
a telling blow
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revealing
a telling smile
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of telling
Explanation
Something that's telling is either significant,or it reveals information. Getting twice as much allowance will have a telling effect on your ability to buy new books. When it comes to economics, a telling indicator of a country's state is how much money its citizens spend each month. And you can see that a movie has had a telling effect on its audience if it leaves them all weeping. If you reveal something without meaning to, that's telling as well: "The look on his face was telling." This adjective dates from the mid-1800s, from the verb tell and its sense of "to reveal or disclose."
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.
So it is telling how analysts handle the expense lines in the middle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Afterwards, Tommy comforted Yasmin, telling her: "I've got you and that's all I care about."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Of the last, Simon recalled lying like a starfish “while nothing inside is telling you to get up, read, watch, sing, call someone, or do much of anything at all.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
But what if that woman’s work, the work she believes was overlooked by The New York Times, is telling women like her that they should not work outside the home?
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
I nod, but I can’t remember him telling me anything about a license or insurance, or any documents for that matter.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
