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
Another tells of what happened to Shihirlis, the lovelorn thief played by Kilmer in the 1995 movie, in the aftermath of the first movie’s climactic robbery, and his multiyear quest to reunite with his former girlfriend (who was played by Judd in the original).
—
Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
But the protection up front is still the most important tell of this quarterback’s day.
—Sam McDowell 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2025
When told of the comment, Ichiro flashed a look of content.
—Brad Lefton, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
These also told of subject Kushite chiefs who supplied the wood from acacia trees used to build vessels to ship blocks of Aswan stone northwards for the pharaoh’s pyramid.
—Vanessa Taylor, Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025
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Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
But the protection up front is still the most important tell of this quarterback’s day.
—Sam McDowell 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2025
When told of the comment, Ichiro flashed a look of content.
—Brad Lefton, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
These also told of subject Kushite chiefs who supplied the wood from acacia trees used to build vessels to ship blocks of Aswan stone northwards for the pharaoh’s pyramid.
—Vanessa Taylor, Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tell of
Cite this Entry
“Tell of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20of. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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