telling

adjective tell·ing \ ˈte-liŋ \

|Updated on: 11 Aug 2018

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Examples: telling in a Sentence

Definition of telling

: carrying great weight and producing a marked effect : effective, expressive

the most telling evidence

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tellingly

play \ˈte-liŋ-lē\ adverb

See telling defined for English-language learners

See telling defined for kids

Examples of telling in a Sentence

Her experience is a telling example of why the nation's educational system needs to be changed.
The most telling moment in the case was when the victim took the stand.

Recent Examples of telling from the Web

The shape of such a cloud can be very telling, too: Magnetic forces make pancake-like clouds, turbulence forms needle-like clouds and thermal forces result in roundish, blobby clouds, Tassis said.

— amina khan, latimes.com, "Scientists develop a 3-D view of an interstellar cloud, where stars are born," 10 May 2018
But the reaction to this whole Kanye-Trump exchange has also been very telling along racial lines about who’s allowed to be even just a little bit visibly conservative.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "DI Chat: Kanye Goes MAGA," 26 Apr. 2018
But there are more telling, testy exchanges here too between judge, prosecution team and defendants.

— stephen dalton, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The State Against Mandela and the Others': Film Review | Cannes 2018," 14 May 2018
The most telling test of Trump’s influence was in South Carolina, where McMaster — elevated to the state’s top office last year when Nikki Haley became U.N. ambassador — had seemed in jeopardy.

— Time, "Henry McMaster, Backed by President Trump, Wins South Carolina Governor Primary," 28 June 2018
The more telling parts are all the years leading up to it.

— rebekah denn, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Uncensored' tells of a difficult passage between black and white, poor and rich," 25 June 2018
Their star power might not be enough to topple Brothers Osborne, who have garnered as much critical acclaim as airplay as of late, always a telling sign for a win.

— chuck dauphin, Billboard, "2018 ACM Nominations: Chris Stapleton Leads the Pack, But There's a Few Surprises," 1 Mar. 2018
The most telling test of Trump’s influence was in South Carolina, where McMaster — elevated to the state’s top office last year when Nikki Haley became U.N. ambassador — had seemed in jeopardy.

— Time, "Henry McMaster, Backed by President Trump, Wins South Carolina Governor Primary," 28 June 2018
The most telling test of Trump’s influence was in South Carolina, where McMaster — elevated to the state’s top office last year when Nikki Haley became U.N. ambassador — had seemed in jeopardy.

— meg kinnard, The Seattle Times, "Trump-backed McMaster wins South Carolina governor primary," 26 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'telling.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of telling

1819

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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telling Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of telling

valid, sound, cogent, convincing, telling mean having such force as to compel serious attention and usually acceptance. valid implies being supported by objective truth or generally accepted authority.