as in indicative
indicating something
I know you've been eating chocolate because of the telltale smudges on your face
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in gossiper
a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others
the media's professional telltales have basically decided that today's celebrities have no right to privacy
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
the department telltale told the boss that his coworkers were taking extra long breaks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of telltale
Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026
Stay vigilant by monitoring the sky for ominous signs and listening for the telltale sound of thunder.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 19 June 2026
University of Oxford ancient DNA researcher Ruairidh Macleod and his colleagues recently sequenced the telltale bacterial DNA in teeth from plague victims at four ancient cemeteries in the area around Russia’s Lake Baikal.
—ArsTechnica, 18 June 2026
The telltale signs of a screwworm infection are the growing wounds or lesions and the presence of feeding maggots on still-alive animals.
—Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 15 June 2026
Another telltale sign of an infestation is seeing swarmers indoors.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 15 June 2026
Ubie lists four telltale signs that caffeine tolerance has set in.
—Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 13 June 2026
This is a telltale sign that the crystals formed at great pressure within a parent body.
—Jenna Ahart, Scientific American, 9 June 2026
That combination helps hide the telltale signs that make websites and networks block VPN traffic in the first place.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026
Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
Torry’s wife, a speech therapist, noticed concerning telltales that led to a diagnosis 14 years ago, when Torry was only 40 years old.
—Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 1 May 2026
However, when outflows from young stars strike surrounding molecular clouds, shockwaves are created that heat matter and cause molecular hydrogen to emit telltale emissions.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Nov. 2025
That was a big telltale for the song.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025
Check for telltale thinning at the crown and temples; broken, frizzy bits at ear and chin level; as well as shorter strands at the nape of the neck that look shredded or wispy.
—Philipp Wehsack, Vogue, 30 Jan. 2025
The only telltale is the small 350e badge on the back.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
Tents selling fireworks all over the county are opening and the telltale pops, booms and bangs can be heard far and wide leading up to Independence Day.
—Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 22 June 2024
The thief slowly turns the dial, listening for the telltale clicks or resistance that might hint at the inner workings of the safe's gears and reveal its combination.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 21 June 2020
Adjective
Miller was dominating Northeast Dubois’ hitters, and there was a telltale sign.
—Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026
Stay vigilant by monitoring the sky for ominous signs and listening for the telltale sound of thunder.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 19 June 2026
University of Oxford ancient DNA researcher Ruairidh Macleod and his colleagues recently sequenced the telltale bacterial DNA in teeth from plague victims at four ancient cemeteries in the area around Russia’s Lake Baikal.
—ArsTechnica, 18 June 2026
The telltale signs of a screwworm infection are the growing wounds or lesions and the presence of feeding maggots on still-alive animals.
—Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 15 June 2026
Another telltale sign of an infestation is seeing swarmers indoors.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 15 June 2026
Ubie lists four telltale signs that caffeine tolerance has set in.
—Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 13 June 2026
This is a telltale sign that the crystals formed at great pressure within a parent body.
—Jenna Ahart, Scientific American, 9 June 2026
That combination helps hide the telltale signs that make websites and networks block VPN traffic in the first place.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026
Noun
Images must be taken at a high cadence, at least every few minutes or so, to spot the telltale tweak to a star’s brightness as it’s microlensed by a relatively small PBH.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
Torry’s wife, a speech therapist, noticed concerning telltales that led to a diagnosis 14 years ago, when Torry was only 40 years old.
—Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 1 May 2026
However, when outflows from young stars strike surrounding molecular clouds, shockwaves are created that heat matter and cause molecular hydrogen to emit telltale emissions.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Nov. 2025
That was a big telltale for the song.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025
Check for telltale thinning at the crown and temples; broken, frizzy bits at ear and chin level; as well as shorter strands at the nape of the neck that look shredded or wispy.
—Philipp Wehsack, Vogue, 30 Jan. 2025
The only telltale is the small 350e badge on the back.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
Tents selling fireworks all over the county are opening and the telltale pops, booms and bangs can be heard far and wide leading up to Independence Day.
—Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 22 June 2024
The thief slowly turns the dial, listening for the telltale clicks or resistance that might hint at the inner workings of the safe's gears and reveal its combination.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 21 June 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for telltale
Adjective
-
Past performance is not indicative of future results.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
-
Any prices or levels shown are either historical or purely indicative.—
Katie Stockton,
CNBC,
22 June 2026
Noun
-
Celebrity gossiper Rob Shuter reported that the two recently let go of a number of their staff.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Her staff figured out how to get rid of the gossiper.—
Ronda Racha Penrice,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Former Gambino mobster and government informant John Alite poses on a Queens street in 2013.—
Cara Tabachnick,
CBS News,
20 June 2026
-
Rogness is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact and one count of tampering with a witness, victim or informant.—
Angela George,
USA Today,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
Despite setbacks, Trout remains a superstar, but his comments about Philly appear more reflective than predictive of a move.—
Peter Chawaga,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
-
The officers, wearing reflective vests, were outside their patrol cars, which were set in place with flashing lights to detour motorists, police said.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Rooftops, crimes, love affairs, gossip.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
-
Pay attention to jealousy around ideas, attention, gossip or who gets the last word.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
One of State Security’s main goals, as well as a central source of its strength, is turning civilians into informers.—
Abraham Jiménez Enoa,
The Dial,
19 May 2026
-
And so every regime invests in having student informers.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For families coming from Johnson County, the new Johnson County United Link is a temporary network of three circulator bus routes running June 9 through July 13, connecting Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam and other JoCo spots.—
Chandler Boese,
Kansas City Star,
11 June 2026
-
Then Brady had more problems with his heating system and contacted the maintenance worker to replace the circulator pump.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Matt Schmidt, founder of Schmidt Automotive Research, said BMW is a canary in a coal mine for the industry.—
Neil Winton,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
-
Princess Kate is back at Royal Ascot and looking radiant in a canary-yellow look.—
Jennifer Hassan,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Telltale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/telltale. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
