as in indicative
indicating something
I know you've been eating chocolate because of the telltale smudges on your face
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in gossiper
a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others
the media's professional telltales have basically decided that today's celebrities have no right to privacy
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in informant
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
the department telltale told the boss that his coworkers were taking extra long breaks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of telltale
K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2026
Liu’s jacket—worn open over a white crewneck tee—featured a breast pocket bearing the house’s telltale LV monogram.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2026
Canals described the telltale signs observed from the submarine.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
This hunch was borne out when the astronomers found that, even though the globular clusters were languishing in an empty stretch of Perseus, they were surrounded by a halo of glowing matter — a telltale sign of a galaxy.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 5 Mar. 2026
Allergies also have their own telltale signs.
—Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2026
Still, enough intact objects survived to identify the telltale designs.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
And then comes that telltale sound again – slow, steady and deliberate.
—Leonie Baier, The Conversation, 27 Feb. 2026
Neve Campbell‘s Sidney Prescott, back after a one-film hiatus, will start getting calls again from someone using that telltale voice soon enough.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2026
Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Nov. 2025
That was a big telltale for the song.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025
Check for telltale thinning at the crown and temples; broken, frizzy bits at ear and chin level; as well as shorter strands at the nape of the neck that look shredded or wispy.
—Philipp Wehsack, Vogue, 30 Jan. 2025
The only telltale is the small 350e badge on the back.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
Tents selling fireworks all over the county are opening and the telltale pops, booms and bangs can be heard far and wide leading up to Independence Day.
—Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 22 June 2024
The initial telltale symptom of the plague is an extremely swollen lymph node, according to Adalja.
—Melissa Rudy, Fox News, 16 Feb. 2024
Photo: Courtesy of Neon Spectators at the crash scene in 1957 reported hearing the telltale hiss of a tire blowing out.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 Jan. 2024
The thief slowly turns the dial, listening for the telltale clicks or resistance that might hint at the inner workings of the safe's gears and reveal its combination.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 21 June 2020
Adjective
Because the instrument, which has a detection limit of about 20 to 30 percent ice by weight, didn’t pick up on these telltale signs in most PSRs, the research team is confident that most of these regions either lack ice or have lower concentrations of it—at least on the surface.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 18 Mar. 2026
Liu’s jacket—worn open over a white crewneck tee—featured a breast pocket bearing the house’s telltale LV monogram.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2026
Canals described the telltale signs observed from the submarine.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
This hunch was borne out when the astronomers found that, even though the globular clusters were languishing in an empty stretch of Perseus, they were surrounded by a halo of glowing matter — a telltale sign of a galaxy.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 5 Mar. 2026
Allergies also have their own telltale signs.
—Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2026
Still, enough intact objects survived to identify the telltale designs.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026
And then comes that telltale sound again – slow, steady and deliberate.
—Leonie Baier, The Conversation, 27 Feb. 2026
Neve Campbell‘s Sidney Prescott, back after a one-film hiatus, will start getting calls again from someone using that telltale voice soon enough.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2026
Noun
However, when outflows from young stars strike surrounding molecular clouds, shockwaves are created that heat matter and cause molecular hydrogen to emit telltale emissions.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Nov. 2025
That was a big telltale for the song.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025
Check for telltale thinning at the crown and temples; broken, frizzy bits at ear and chin level; as well as shorter strands at the nape of the neck that look shredded or wispy.
—Philipp Wehsack, Vogue, 30 Jan. 2025
The only telltale is the small 350e badge on the back.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
Tents selling fireworks all over the county are opening and the telltale pops, booms and bangs can be heard far and wide leading up to Independence Day.
—Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 22 June 2024
The initial telltale symptom of the plague is an extremely swollen lymph node, according to Adalja.
—Melissa Rudy, Fox News, 16 Feb. 2024
Photo: Courtesy of Neon Spectators at the crash scene in 1957 reported hearing the telltale hiss of a tire blowing out.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 Jan. 2024
The thief slowly turns the dial, listening for the telltale clicks or resistance that might hint at the inner workings of the safe's gears and reveal its combination.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 21 June 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for telltale
Adjective
-
Any prices or levels shown are either historical or purely indicative.—
Katie Stockton,
CNBC,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Past performance is not indicative of future results.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Celebrity gossiper Rob Shuter reported that the two recently let go of a number of their staff.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Her staff figured out how to get rid of the gossiper.—
Ronda Racha Penrice,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The informants don't trust the police.—
Rebecca Rosman,
NPR,
21 Mar. 2026
-
That warrant stated that police had allegedly received a tip from a confidential informant who claimed to have seen large amounts of weed and money at Afroman's home.—
Angeline Jane Bernabe,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center plans to incorporate bird-friendly glass, a move aimed at reducing deadly collisions with reflective surfaces.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The soft glow of lanterns against ancient mounds turns a seemingly simple walk into a reflective, cinematic journey through American history.—
Rafael Peña,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The infamous gossip blogger took to social media over the weekend to share a video of himself breathing shallowly in a hospital bed, with a tube of oxygen hooked up through his nostrils.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Perez Hilton has a piece of hot gossip — about himself.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
And so every regime invests in having student informers.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The whole family is deeply involved in the revolutionary movement: the oldest son disappears into Siberia, never to be seen or heard of again, while the youngest, eighteen, is jailed together with his father, and executed after his cell is exposed by an informer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These include helium circulators, turbines, steam generators, pumps, and instrumentation and controls for the reactor’s power and heat generation.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Constitutional concerns helped tank a bill Tuesday in the South Dakota House of Representatives that aimed to ban payments to petition circulators in ballot measure campaigns.—
John Hult,
States Newsroom,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The proverbial canaries in coal mines will then cause a recession.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
1 Mar. 2026
-
By crunching data from millions of monthly payroll records for workers in jobs with exposure to generative AI, the authors concluded that workers ages 22 to 25—the canaries—have seen about a 13 percent decline in employment since late 2022.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Telltale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/telltale. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
