telling

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛlɪŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlɪŋ

Adjective

telling (comparative more telling, superlative most telling)

1. having force
2. revealing information
   • 2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner's punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, 13 September 2014, p. S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport)‎:

     But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.

3. serving to convince

Verb

telling

1. present participle of tell

Noun

telling (plural tellings)

1. The act of narration.
2. The disclosure of information.
3. (archaic) Counting, numbering.
4. (usually in the negative) Ability to determine.
   • 1922, A. M. Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate

     "One white man." said Bill, after a brief inspection. "Out on his line, I s'pose, and there's no tellin' when he'll be back. So we won't wait. We'll just serve notice on him."

Anagrams

• gillnet

Etymology

From tellen +‎ -ing

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tel‧ling

Noun

telling f (plural tellingen, diminutive tellinkje n)

1. counting, count