tell of
phrasal verb
told of; telling of; tells of
formal + literary
1
: to be evidence of (something) : to indicate
Her smile told of her good news.
His rough hands tell of a hard life.
2
: to describe (something) : to make the details of (something) known
The article tells of her Arctic journey.
3
: to talk to (someone) about (something)
He told us of his plans to move to the city.
Examples of tell of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Starring Jack Irv, Darío Yazbek Bernal, Willem Dafoe and Peter Sarsgaard, the film tells of a drug lord scion on the run from his powerful family.
—
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
Officers were told of the stabbing just before 4:25 p.m. after an altercation broke out between at least two men on Traction Avenue and Colfax Street in the Old North Sacramento neighborhood, according to archived radio dispatches.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024
From the May 2021 issue: Return the national parks to the tribes
The oral histories of many Native nations tell of revolutions against and flights from cities.
—Kathleen Duval, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2024
In earlier interviews, Shanahan told of growing up with a mother who had recently emigrated from China and a father who struggled with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
The 1963 Japanese movie told of a shoe executive that was in the middle of a complex corporate takeover when his plans are derailed by the accidental kidnapping and ransom of his chauffeur’s son, instead of his own son.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024
Police began stringing the two incidents together shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday when a Fort Lauderdale officer assigned to Broward Health Medical Center was told of a 16-year-old boy who had been shot being treated there, said Detective Ali Adamson, a department spokeswoman.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024
The story tells of the night the Three Kings, following the star to Bethlehem, stop for shelter at the home of Amahl, a poor, crippled shepherd boy who lives with his widowed mother.
—The Courier-Journal, 3 Apr. 2024
People who wanted to quit opioids told of frustrating red tape and humiliating rules.
—Lev Facher, STAT, 26 Mar. 2024
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
Officers were told of the stabbing just before 4:25 p.m. after an altercation broke out between at least two men on Traction Avenue and Colfax Street in the Old North Sacramento neighborhood, according to archived radio dispatches.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024
From the May 2021 issue: Return the national parks to the tribes
The oral histories of many Native nations tell of revolutions against and flights from cities.
—Kathleen Duval, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2024
In earlier interviews, Shanahan told of growing up with a mother who had recently emigrated from China and a father who struggled with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
The 1963 Japanese movie told of a shoe executive that was in the middle of a complex corporate takeover when his plans are derailed by the accidental kidnapping and ransom of his chauffeur’s son, instead of his own son.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024
Police began stringing the two incidents together shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday when a Fort Lauderdale officer assigned to Broward Health Medical Center was told of a 16-year-old boy who had been shot being treated there, said Detective Ali Adamson, a department spokeswoman.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024
The story tells of the night the Three Kings, following the star to Bethlehem, stop for shelter at the home of Amahl, a poor, crippled shepherd boy who lives with his widowed mother.
—The Courier-Journal, 3 Apr. 2024
People who wanted to quit opioids told of frustrating red tape and humiliating rules.
—Lev Facher, STAT, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tell of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tell of
Cite this Entry
“Tell of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20of. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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