tattletale
noun
tat·tle·tale
ˈta-tᵊl-ˌtāl 
Examples of tattletale in a Sentence
don't be such a tattletale and tell me about every little thing your sister does
Recent Examples on the Web
The two of them, as though after a party, would have stood at the sink cleaning dishes and wondering which among the attendees was the traitor, the tattletale.
—
Hazlitt, 26 July 2023
We’re basically guaranteed to see that thing where one person tells Zach that another person is there for the wrong reasons, but then the tattletale winds up consumed by their own vendetta and self-sabotages.
—Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2023
One errant tweet, one mistimed joke, one honest opinion overheard by an oversensitive busybody with the shrunken soul of a schoolyard tattletale, and a person’s job can be lost and his reputation destroyed.
—James E. Person Jr., National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
Deciding to become a whistleblower requires some hefty thinking, trying to balance a personal sense of ethical codes versus the potential for being known as an informer or tattletale.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 23 June 2021
The odds are that once self-driving cars become prevalent, the general public will wise up that self-driving cars have this intrinsic capability of being a tattletale.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 12 June 2021
The boy was branded as a tattletale for reporting what had happened to him and became the target of fierce bullying at school.
—Emma Brown, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2021
Kaila White, 29, also of Phoenix, was a good student and a tattletale while growing up.
—Michelle Rogers, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2020
Was this really all in my head? *** Some families might demonize liars, or tattletales, or people who fall down on some other moral imperative.
—Alyson Pomerantz, Longreads, 3 Sep. 2019
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Hazlitt, 26 July 2023
We’re basically guaranteed to see that thing where one person tells Zach that another person is there for the wrong reasons, but then the tattletale winds up consumed by their own vendetta and self-sabotages.
—Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2023
One errant tweet, one mistimed joke, one honest opinion overheard by an oversensitive busybody with the shrunken soul of a schoolyard tattletale, and a person’s job can be lost and his reputation destroyed.
—James E. Person Jr., National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
Deciding to become a whistleblower requires some hefty thinking, trying to balance a personal sense of ethical codes versus the potential for being known as an informer or tattletale.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 23 June 2021
The odds are that once self-driving cars become prevalent, the general public will wise up that self-driving cars have this intrinsic capability of being a tattletale.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 12 June 2021
The boy was branded as a tattletale for reporting what had happened to him and became the target of fierce bullying at school.
—Emma Brown, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2021
Kaila White, 29, also of Phoenix, was a good student and a tattletale while growing up.
—Michelle Rogers, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2020
Was this really all in my head? *** Some families might demonize liars, or tattletales, or people who fall down on some other moral imperative.
—Alyson Pomerantz, Longreads, 3 Sep. 2019
Articles Related to tattletale
Cite this Entry
“Tattletale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tattletale. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share