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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Tell Meaning, Examples & Usage Guide (3 meaning)

Meaning 1：inform (tell)

tell 🔊

/tɛl/

To say something to someone, giving them information.

Two friends at a cafe, one telling a story with hand gestures

inform 🔊

➕

/ɪnˈfɔːrm/

To communicate facts, news, or a story to someone verbally.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：初级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'tellan' (to relate, count), akin to 'tale'.

💡 Mnemonic

Tell sounds like tale – when you tell, you share a tale.

📖 Example

My grandma loves to tell me stories about her childhood. 🔊 My grandma loves to tell me stories about her childhood.

🔗 Collocations

tell a story – to narrate an account of events

tell the truth – to speak honestly without lying

tell a lie – to make a false statement intentionally

🔄 Synonyms

inform (v.) – to give information to someone

relate (v.) – to recount or narrate a story or event

narrate (v.) – to tell a story in detail

🚫 Antonyms

listen (v.) – to pay attention to someone speaking

withhold (v.) – to refrain from giving information

🌱 Derivatives

teller (n.) – a person who tells stories or works at a bank counter

telling (adj.) – having a significant effect or revealing

📖 Cultural Story

Rooted in Proto-Germanic *taljaną. Originally meant 'to recount in order.' Modern English uses include informing, distinguishing, and commanding.

Meaning 2：distinguish (tell)

tell 🔊

/tɛl/

To be able to see, understand, or know the difference between things.

Person examining two plants to tell the difference between them

distinguish 🔊

➕

/dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/

To recognize the difference between two or more things by observing or thinking.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：中级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

Can you tell which dessert has less sugar just by looking at them? They look identical! 🔊 Can you tell which dessert has less sugar just by looking at them? They look identical!

🔗 Collocations

tell the difference – to identify the distinction between two items

tell apart – to recognize each member of a group as different from the others

tell right from wrong – to discern moral correctness

🔄 Synonyms

distinguish (v.) – to recognize or point out a difference

discern (v.) – to perceive or recognize clearly

differentiate (v.) – to identify what makes something different

🚫 Antonyms

confuse (v.) – to mistake one thing for another

mistake (v.) – to incorrectly identify something

🌱 Derivatives

telling (adj.) – revealing or indicative of a difference

Meaning 3：order (tell)

tell 🔊

/tɛl/

To order or instruct someone to do something.

Coach telling an athlete instructions on a sunny sports field

order 🔊

➕

/ˈɔːrdər/

To give an authoritative instruction to someone to perform a specific action.

📁 Category：Laws & Regulations 🔖 Level：中级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The traffic police officer told the drivers to stop and wait for the school bus to pass. 🔊 The traffic police officer told the drivers to stop and wait for the school bus to pass.

🔗 Collocations

tell someone to do something – to instruct someone to perform an action

tell someone what to do – to give orders or directions

tell someone off – to reprimand or scold someone

🔄 Synonyms

order (v.) – to give a command

command (v.) – to direct with authority

instruct (v.) – to give directions or orders

🚫 Antonyms

obey (v.) – to comply with an order

suggest (v.) – to propose an idea without demanding

🌱 Derivatives

telling (adj.) – effective or impressive, as in a telling command