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.
Presenting the award, Hallie Jackson from NBC News noted how all of the nominees in the category had "devoted countless hours and effort to making sure that we keep telling these stories".
From BBC • May 28, 2026
She also dished out some tips for renovating your own space, telling fans, “You don’t have to do it all in one day. Start with the key pieces and build outward.”
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
Now I just have to get better and do what the doctors are telling me.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
Earlier this month, Fender sent cease-and-desist letters to other guitar builders, telling them to stop production of any Strat-shaped guitars and to recall and destroy such instruments.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
The next day in the hall before lunch, Ifound myself telling Samantha Embriano and Joey that even though Jessica would normally have taken my bus in the morning, she didn’t.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
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.
