: carrying great weight and producing a marked effect : effective, expressive
the most telling evidence
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 on the Web
Week 1 is nearly here, and the first outing against the New York Jets will be very telling.
—
James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
One of the more telling developments is the software shift underway.
—Craig S. Smith, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Perhaps the most telling piece of evidence testifying to the importance of fire for our kind was the attendant suite of changes to the anatomy of the now-varied group of hominins, various species of which spanned not only Africa but also Eurasia as the Pleistocene drew on, from Spain to Indonesia.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
India’s presence at the event is the most telling example yet of the warming ties between the two Asian powers – a budding realignment that threatens to undo years-long US efforts to cultivate New Delhi as a counterweight against a rising and increasingly assertive China.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for telling
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James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
One of the more telling developments is the software shift underway.
—Craig S. Smith, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Perhaps the most telling piece of evidence testifying to the importance of fire for our kind was the attendant suite of changes to the anatomy of the now-varied group of hominins, various species of which spanned not only Africa but also Eurasia as the Pleistocene drew on, from Spain to Indonesia.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
India’s presence at the event is the most telling example yet of the warming ties between the two Asian powers – a budding realignment that threatens to undo years-long US efforts to cultivate New Delhi as a counterweight against a rising and increasingly assertive China.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for telling
Cite this Entry
“Telling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/telling. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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