"telling" meaning in English

See telling in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈtɛlɪŋ/ Audio: en-us-telling.ogg [US] Forms: more telling [comparative], most telling [superlative]
Rhymes: -ɛlɪŋ Head templates: {{en-adj}} telling (comparative more telling, superlative most telling)
  1. Having force, or having a marked effect; weighty, effective.
    Sense id: en-telling-en-adj-en:effective
  2. Revealing information; bearing significance.
    Sense id: en-telling-en-adj-en:revealing
  3. Serving to convince.
    Sense id: en-telling-en-adj-en:convincing
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: tellingly, tellingness
Etymology number: 1

Noun

IPA: /ˈtɛlɪŋ/ Audio: en-us-telling.ogg [US] Forms: tellings [plural]
Rhymes: -ɛlɪŋ Etymology: Gerund from the verb tell, from tell + -ing. Etymology templates: {{m|en|tell}} tell, {{suf|en|tell|ing}} tell + -ing Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} telling (countable and uncountable, plural tellings)
  1. The act of narration. Tags: countable, uncountable
    Sense id: en-telling-en-noun-aNlGLvPB
  2. The disclosure of information. Tags: countable, uncountable
    Sense id: en-telling-en-noun-iGtUu7~P
  3. (archaic) Counting, numbering. Tags: archaic, countable, uncountable Synonyms (counting, numbering): enumeration
    Sense id: en-telling-en-noun-q9JoxaI~ Disambiguation of 'counting, numbering': 0 0 97 2
  4. (chiefly in the negative) Ability to determine. Tags: countable, uncountable
    Sense id: en-telling-en-noun-wTgFqEWz Categories (other): English negative polarity items
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: counting Derived forms: fortune-telling, life-telling, telling bone, truth-telling
Etymology number: 2

Verb

IPA: /ˈtɛlɪŋ/ Audio: en-us-telling.ogg [US]
Rhymes: -ɛlɪŋ Head templates: {{head|en|verb form}} telling
  1. present participle and gerund of tell Tags: form-of, gerund, participle, present Form of: tell
    Sense id: en-telling-en-verb-gs13w0xM Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ing Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 9 2 10 5 1 11 8 55 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ing: 12 5 11 2 2 12 22 34
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for telling meaning in English (5.8kB)

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  "etymology_number": 1,
  "head_templates": [
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "verb form"
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      "expansion": "telling",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "9 2 10 5 1 11 8 55",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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        "present participle and gerund of tell"
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      "id": "en-telling-en-verb-gs13w0xM",
      "links": [
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          "tell",
          "tell#English"
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  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/ˈtɛlɪŋ/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlɪŋ"
    },
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      "audio": "en-us-telling.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e8/En-us-telling.ogg/En-us-telling.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/En-us-telling.ogg",
      "tags": [
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    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "tellingly"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "tellingness"
    }
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  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more telling",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
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    },
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      "form": "most telling",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "a telling blow",
          "type": "example"
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        "Having force, or having a marked effect; weighty, effective."
      ],
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          "weighty",
          "weighty"
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        [
          "effective",
          "effective"
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      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "a telling smile",
          "type": "example"
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          "ref": "2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner's punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, 13 September 2014, p. S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport)",
          "text": "But ever since the concept of \"hamartia\" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Revealing information; bearing significance."
      ],
      "id": "en-telling-en-adj-en:revealing",
      "links": [
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          "revealing"
        ],
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          "information",
          "information"
        ],
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          "significance"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:revealing"
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    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "telling evidence",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Serving to convince."
      ],
      "id": "en-telling-en-adj-en:convincing",
      "links": [
        [
          "Serving",
          "serving"
        ],
        [
          "convince",
          "convince"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:convincing"
      ]
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    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlɪŋ"
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      "audio": "en-us-telling.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e8/En-us-telling.ogg/En-us-telling.ogg.mp3",
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  "word": "telling"
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      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "fortune-telling"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "life-telling"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "telling bone"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "truth-telling"
    }
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  "etymology_templates": [
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        "2": "tell",
        "3": "ing"
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  "etymology_text": "Gerund from the verb tell, from tell + -ing.",
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      "form": "tellings",
      "tags": [
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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      "glosses": [
        "The act of narration."
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      "id": "en-telling-en-noun-aNlGLvPB",
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          "disclosure"
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      "tags": [
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    },
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      "glosses": [
        "Counting, numbering."
      ],
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          "counting"
        ],
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          "numbering",
          "numbering"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic) Counting, numbering."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 0 97 2",
          "sense": "counting, numbering",
          "word": "enumeration"
        }
      ],
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        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
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        }
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1922, A[rthur] M[urray] Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate",
          "text": "\"One white man.\" said Bill, after a brief inspection. \"Out on his line, I s'pose, and there's no tellin' when he'll be back. So we won't wait. We'll just serve notice on him.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Ability to determine."
      ],
      "id": "en-telling-en-noun-wTgFqEWz",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly in the negative) Ability to determine."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "in the negative"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "audio": "en-us-telling.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e8/En-us-telling.ogg/En-us-telling.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/En-us-telling.ogg",
      "tags": [
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    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "counting"
    }
  ],
  "word": "telling"
}
{
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          "word": "tell"
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        "present participle and gerund of tell"
      ],
      "links": [
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          "tell",
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  "word": "telling"
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    "English terms suffixed with -ing",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verb forms",
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  "derived": [
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      "word": "tellingly"
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  "forms": [
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      "form": "more telling",
      "tags": [
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    },
    {
      "form": "most telling",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
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  "senses": [
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        {
          "text": "a telling blow",
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having force, or having a marked effect; weighty, effective."
      ],
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          "force",
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          "marked",
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        [
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          "effective"
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        {
          "text": "a telling smile",
          "type": "example"
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          "ref": "2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner's punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, 13 September 2014, p. S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport)",
          "text": "But ever since the concept of \"hamartia\" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Revealing information; bearing significance."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Revealing",
          "revealing"
        ],
        [
          "information",
          "information"
        ],
        [
          "significance",
          "significance"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:revealing"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "telling evidence",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Serving to convince."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Serving",
          "serving"
        ],
        [
          "convince",
          "convince"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:convincing"
      ]
    }
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      "ipa": "/ˈtɛlɪŋ/"
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    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlɪŋ"
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      "audio": "en-us-telling.ogg",
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  "word": "telling"
}

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    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlɪŋ",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlɪŋ/2 syllables"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "fortune-telling"
    },
    {
      "word": "life-telling"
    },
    {
      "word": "telling bone"
    },
    {
      "word": "truth-telling"
    }
  ],
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  "etymology_templates": [
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        "2": "tell",
        "3": "ing"
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      "expansion": "tell + -ing",
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    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Gerund from the verb tell, from tell + -ing.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tellings",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The act of narration."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "narration",
          "narration"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The disclosure of information."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "disclosure",
          "disclosure"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with archaic senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Counting, numbering."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Counting",
          "counting"
        ],
        [
          "numbering",
          "numbering"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic) Counting, numbering."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
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        {
          "ref": "1922, A[rthur] M[urray] Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate",
          "text": "\"One white man.\" said Bill, after a brief inspection. \"Out on his line, I s'pose, and there's no tellin' when he'll be back. So we won't wait. We'll just serve notice on him.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Ability to determine."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly in the negative) Ability to determine."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "in the negative"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɛlɪŋ/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlɪŋ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-telling.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e8/En-us-telling.ogg/En-us-telling.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/En-us-telling.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "counting, numbering",
      "word": "enumeration"
    },
    {
      "word": "counting"
    }
  ],
  "word": "telling"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-20 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (1d5a7d1 and 304864d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.