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
Read on to learn how to tell the difference between food poisoning and a stomach virus.
COVID-19 or Stomach Flu?
—
Stephanie Booth, Health, 2 June 2024
One of the best ways to tell the difference, Pratt said, is to look for a hump at the shoulders.
—Cnn, The Mercury News, 7 June 2024
The 60 people slaughtered and hundreds injured by the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooter in 2017 certainly couldn’t tell the difference between rifles modified internally or externally as the gunman rained down up to 100 rounds in a single burst of gunfire.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 17 June 2024
That’s the case even if the images are fake because other students may not be able to tell the difference.
—Anna North, Vox, 2 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tell the difference 
Stephanie Booth, Health, 2 June 2024
One of the best ways to tell the difference, Pratt said, is to look for a hump at the shoulders.
—Cnn, The Mercury News, 7 June 2024
The 60 people slaughtered and hundreds injured by the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooter in 2017 certainly couldn’t tell the difference between rifles modified internally or externally as the gunman rained down up to 100 rounds in a single burst of gunfire.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 17 June 2024
That’s the case even if the images are fake because other students may not be able to tell the difference.
—Anna North, Vox, 2 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tell the difference
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tell the difference.' 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 the difference
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“Tell the difference.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20the%20difference. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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