telling

adjective
UK: /ˈtelɪŋ/
US: /ˈtelɪŋ/

  1. Clearly revealing or indicating something important.

    1. Her worried look was very telling, I knew something was wrong. [ ] [ ]
    2. The fact that he didn't respond is telling about his true feelings on the matter. [ ] [ ]

  2. Having a strong or important effect; significant.

    1. The telling blow ended the fight quickly and decisively. [ ] [ ]
    2. Rising inflation is having a telling effect on household budgets everywhere. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

revealing indicative significant striking
telling noun

  1. The act of relating a story or giving an account of something.

    1. The telling of the story took much longer than I thought it would. [ ] [ ]
    2. Her skillful telling of the events kept everyone on the edge of their seats. [ ] [ ]
telling verb

  1. Present participle of tell: expressing something in words.

    1. I am telling you this because I care about you. [ ] [ ]
    2. She was telling a story about her travels in Southeast Asia last year. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "telling" in English means: Clearly revealing or indicating something important., Having a strong or important effect; significant..

The phonetic transcription of "telling" is /ˈtelɪŋ/ in British English and /ˈtelɪŋ/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "telling": revealing, indicative, significant, striking.

Example usage of "telling": "Her worried look was very telling, I knew something was wrong.". More examples on the page.