tell the difference
idiom
: to see how two or more people or things are unlike each other
It's hard to tell the difference between one action movie and another.
The new version is supposed to be much better than the old one, but I can't tell the difference (between them).
Examples of tell the difference in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When every company sounds the same, buyers can’t tell the difference.
—
Jaime Catmull, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
But this insincere hack rudely assumes that children can’t tell the difference between a simple, nice thing and a more complicated, far inferior thing.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 16 Apr. 2025
Frequently Asked Questions Can doctors tell the difference between alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver?
—Suchandrima Bhowmik, Health, 31 May 2025
Can the two tell the difference between playacting and following their hearts?
—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for tell the difference
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Jaime Catmull, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
But this insincere hack rudely assumes that children can’t tell the difference between a simple, nice thing and a more complicated, far inferior thing.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 16 Apr. 2025
Frequently Asked Questions Can doctors tell the difference between alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver?
—Suchandrima Bhowmik, Health, 31 May 2025
Can the two tell the difference between playacting and following their hearts?
—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for tell the difference
Cite this Entry
“Tell the difference.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20the%20difference. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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