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1. Express in words
   "tell me what is bothering you";
   - state, say
    
2. Let something be known
   "Tell them that you will be late"
    
3. Narrate or give a detailed account of
   "Tell what happened"; "The father told a story to his child";
   - narrate, recount, recite, retail[2]
    
4. Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority
   "The mother told the child to get dressed";
   - order, enjoin, say
    
5. Discern or comprehend
   "He could tell that she was unhappy"
    
6. Inform positively and with certainty and confidence
   "I tell you that man is a crook!";
   - assure
    
7. Give evidence
   "he was telling on all his former colleague";
   - evidence
    
8. Mark as different
   "We tell apart several kinds of maple";
   - distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern [rare], secernate, severalize, severalise [Brit], tell apart

1. A Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer; according to legend an Austrian governor compelled him to shoot an apple from his son's head with his crossbow (which he did successfully without mishap)
   - William Tell

Derived forms: telling, tells, told

See also: distinguish, tell off

Type of: affirm, archer, assert, aver, avow, bowman, express, finger [informal], give tongue to, guess, identify, infer, inform, place, request, swear, utter, verbalise [Brit], verbalize, verify

Encyclopedia: Tell, West Bank