telling (on)

verb

Definition of telling (on)next
present participle of tell (on)
1
as in affecting
to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response the pressure of final exams is beginning to tell on the students in the dorm

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in talking
to give information (as to the authorities) about another's improper or unlawful activities detectives convinced the perpetrators in custody to tell on their associates

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for telling (on)
  1. affecting
  2. talking
  3. informing
  4. striking
Verb
  • The pain was really affecting my mental health.
    Julia Ries, SELF, 11 Dec. 2024
  • There are also far too many songs in A Complete Unknown—most are profoundly affecting, but a few ought to have been strategically trimmed.
    Radhika Seth, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of affecting
Verb
  • As this all unfolds in court, the people are talking.
    Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2024
  • There was only the sound of talking in the background.
    Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of talking
Verb
  • Southeastern supermarket chain Publix separately shared a notice informing customs that recalled MadeGood Mixed Berry, Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Drizzle Birthday Cake granola bar varieties were sold at Publix and Publix GreenWise Market stores.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Public Citizen says Oz has violated the FTC's endorsement disclosure and influencer marketing guidelines by not informing his millions of online followers about his financial ties to iHerb while frequently posting about the company.
    Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of informing
Verb
  • Last year’s winner was an image of a female western gray kangaroo striking an air guitar pose, taken by photographer Jason Moore early one morning in a wildflower field in the suburbs of Perth, Australia.
    Jack Guy, CNN, 11 Dec. 2024
  • To give a sense of scale, the researchers produced an image of all that plastic waste if it were piled atop Manhattan, and the image is striking.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of striking
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near telling (on)

telling off

telling (on)

tell (of)

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Telling (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/telling%20%28on%29. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

More Words with Remarkable Origins

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
confused man standing between two doors
One Word or Two? Take the Quiz! Some words just need a little space.