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

This means building a defense system that is deeply integrated, intelligent and flexible enough to tell the difference between helpful and harmful actions, neutralize threats in real time and continuously learn from every interaction to become stronger and more resilient over time. —Anand Oswal, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025

The easiest way to tell the difference is that Charlevoix stones have a smaller hexagonal exoskeleton pattern compared to Petoskey stones. —Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 27 July 2025

At just a few months old, Piper could already tell the difference between her dad and uncle Jonathan, the brothers shared during a joint appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show in November 2024. —Jacqueline Weiss, People.com, 17 July 2025

Here's how to tell the difference, and how best to prepare plantains, according to Agyeman. —Hannah Yasharoff, USA Today, 18 July 2025

Rhymes for tell the difference

• indifference