telltale

[ tel-teyl ]

/ ˈtɛlˌteɪl /

See synonyms for: telltale / telltales on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who heedlessly or maliciously reveals private or confidential matters; tattler; talebearer.

a thing serving to reveal or disclose something.

any of various indicating or registering devices, as a time clock.

Music. a gauge on an organ for indicating the air pressure.

an indicator showing the position of a ship's rudder.

a row of strips hung over a track to warn train crew members on freight trains that a low bridge, tunnel, or the like is approaching.

Yachting. (on a sailboat) a feather, string, or similar device, often attached to the port and starboard shrouds and to the backstay, to indicate the relative direction of the wind.

Squash. a narrow piece of metal across the front wall of a court, parallel to and extending 17 inches (43.2 centimeters) above the base: a ball striking this is an out.

adjective

that reveals or betrays what is not intended to be known: a telltale blush.

giving notice or warning of something, as a mechanical device.

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Origin of telltale

First recorded in 1540–50; tell¹ + tale

OTHER WORDS FROM telltale

telltalely, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for telltale

His sanity is slowly unraveling, like the claustrophobic narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart.
‘Interstellar’ Is Wildly Ambitious, Very Flawed, and Absolutely Worth Seeing|Marlow Stern|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kaszeta insisted that the chemical compound hexamine in the sarin residue was a tell-tale sign of Syrian government involvement.
The Kardashian Look-Alike Trolling for Assad|Noah Shachtman, Michael Kennedy|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“It has all the tell-tale signs of what we saw in Crimea,” Power told ABC News Sunday.
Obama Administration Preps New Sanctions Against Russia|Josh Rogin|April 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The response to my piece on Open Zion by Alex Kane was one such example—albeit without such a tell-tale headline.
BDS Loses by Losing|Jon Haber|July 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST

This sort of "Tell-Tale Heart" behavior can be the best evidence of all.
Yale Killer Caught on Tape?|Wendy Murphy|September 14, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I stayed in the shadow of the trees, beside the knoll, and spied out the landscape, and listened for any tell-tale sound.
Border Ghost Stories|Howard Pease
She dared not risk letting Miss Keren see her tell-tale face, nor hear her voice in one avoidable word.
Six Girls and the Tea Room|Marion Ames Taggart
He knew in an instant more they would find him there with the tell-tale knife, dripping with blood, in his hand.
Kidnapped at the Altar|Laura Jean Libbey
He heard a match being struck in Mason's room and the rustling of the tell-tale paper.
The Hills of Refuge|Will N. Harben
Lanyard cocked a sly eye at the tell-tale; it designated their course as west-by-north a quarter west.
Alias The Lone Wolf|Louis Joseph Vance

British Dictionary definitions for telltale

telltale

/ (ˈtɛlˌteɪl) /

noun

a person who tells tales about others

an outward indication of something concealed
(as modifier)a telltale paw mark

any of various indicators or recording devices used to monitor a process, machine, etc

nautical

another word for dogvane
one of a pair of light vanes mounted on the main shrouds of a sailing boat to indicate the apparent direction of the wind

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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telltale

noun

adjective

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Origin of telltale

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Example sentences from the Web for telltale

British Dictionary definitions for telltale

noun

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

telltale

noun

adjective

QUIZZES

LEARN THE SPANISH WORDS FOR THESE COMMON ANIMALS!

Origin of telltale

OTHER WORDS FROM telltale

Words related to telltale

Example sentences from the Web for telltale

British Dictionary definitions for telltale

noun