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
Cathal Conneely, a spokesman for the Judicial Council of California — which sets state court policy and which Guerrero chairs — said in a statement to The Times that council staff were told of Jessner’s plans.
—
Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2024
The report, written by the environmental human rights organization World Rainforest Movement, told of foreigners pursuing carbon credit deals worth millions of dollars in faraway Portel.
—Júlia Ledur, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
The jury has not been told of her health issues in court.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 15 July 2024
The novel tells of the unique relationship between a lonely woman working as a janitor at an aquarium and a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus living at the facility.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tell of 
Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2024
The report, written by the environmental human rights organization World Rainforest Movement, told of foreigners pursuing carbon credit deals worth millions of dollars in faraway Portel.
—Júlia Ledur, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
The jury has not been told of her health issues in court.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 15 July 2024
The novel tells of the unique relationship between a lonely woman working as a janitor at an aquarium and a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus living at the facility.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tell of
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 17 Sep. 2024.
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