adj

telling

TEH-lihng

adj

Revealing something important, often without meaning to; significant.

"His nervous laugh was a telling sign that he was hiding something."

"It's telling that none of her colleagues wanted to comment."

noun

The act of narrating or passing on information.

"The story loses something with each telling."

How to Use Telling

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishAs an adjective, describes a detail or reaction that reveals more than was intended.

Common pairings

a telling sign a telling silence in the telling

more telling comparative, tellings plural, most telling superlative

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His nervous laugh was a _____ sign that he was hiding something.

The -ing form of the verb tell.

welling selling yelling felling spelling dwelling swelling smelling shelling gruelling modelling expelling