telling

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈtɛlɪŋ/ UK /ˈtɛlɪŋ/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
having a striking or revealing effect; significant

His silence was a telling sign of his disapproval.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having a striking or... revealing significant striking cogent meaningful weighty effective

Opposites

insignificant trivial inconsequential

Word family

Derived forms tellingly

Related forms tell teller tale foretell

Etymology

From tell + -ing. Tell is from Old English tellan ('to reckon, count, narrate'), from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, related to tale.

tellan Old English *taljaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

# telling

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈtɛlɪŋ
**IPA (UK):** ˈtɛlɪŋ

## Meanings
1. having a striking or revealing effect; significant

## Examples
- His silence was a telling sign of his disapproval.

## Synonyms
- revealing
- significant
- striking
- cogent
- meaningful
- weighty
- effective

## Antonyms
- insignificant
- trivial
- inconsequential

## Derived Forms
- tellingly

## Related Forms
- tell
- teller
- tale
- foretell

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tellan
- Root: *taljaną

## Etymology
From tell + -ing. Tell is from Old English tellan ('to reckon, count, narrate'), from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, related to tale.

## AI Etymology
Telling comes from tell + -ing. Tell is from Old English tellan ('to reckon, count, narrate'), from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, related to tale. The historical trail runs through Old English tellan and Proto-Germanic *taljaną. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means having a striking or revealing effect; significant. Derived formations include tellingly; related forms include tell, teller, tale, foretell.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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