telling
telling Lexical Profile
telling Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having a striking, significant, or revealing effect; inadvertently disclosing something important that might otherwise remain hidden.
"It was telling that the director avoided answering any questions about the project's budget."
Forceful, decisive, or producing a marked and undeniable impact (such as a blow, argument, or critique).
"The defense attorney delivered a telling critique of the prosecution's timeline during closing arguments."
• noun
The act or an instance of narrating, recounting, or communicating a story, event, or piece of information.
"The legend became much more dramatic in the telling as it passed from one generation to the next."
• Rhymes for telling
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Middle English 'tellinge' and Old English 'tellung' ('a narration, reckoning, or enumeration'), formed from the verb 'tellan' ('to recount, calculate, or consider') plus the participial and nominal suffix '-ing'.