Tell vs Sing - What's the difference?
Tell | sing | Synonyms |
(lb) To count, reckon, or enumerate.
:
*1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , II.vii:
*:And in his lap a masse of coyne he told , / And turned vpsidowne, to feede his eye / A couetous desire with his huge threasury.
*1875 , Hugh MacMillan, The Sunday Magazine :
*:Only He who made them can tell the number of the stars, and mark the place of each in the order of the one great dominant spiral.
(lb) To narrate.
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*, chapter=7
, title= (lb) To convey by speech; to say.
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*, chapter=4
, title= (lb) To instruct or inform.
:
*Bible, (w) xii. 18
*:Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5
, passage=But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud,
(lb) To order; to direct, to say to someone.
:
*(Charles Dickens) (1812-1870)
*:He told her not to be frightened.
*'>citation
*:Stability was restored, but once the re-entry propulsion was activated, the crew was told to prepare to come home before the end of their only day in orbit.
(lb) To discern, notice, identify or distinguish.
:
*
*:Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.
(lb) To reveal.
:
(lb) To be revealed.
*1990 , (Stephen Coonts), Under Siege, 1991 (Pocket Books) edition, ISBN 0671742949, p.409:
*:Cherry looks old, Mergenthaler told himself. His age is telling . Querulous — that's the word. He's become a whining, querulous old man absorbed with trivialities.
(lb) To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.
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*1859 (John Stuart Mill), (On Liberty)
*:Opinion ought [… to give] merited honour to every one, whatever opinion he may holdkeeping nothing back which tells', or can be supposed to ' tell , in their favour.
*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 18, author=Ben Dirs, work=BBC Sport
, title= A reflexive, often habitual behavior, (especially) one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.
That which is told; tale; account.
* Walpole
(internet) A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.
(archaeology) A mound, originally in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.
To produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice.
To express audibly by means of a harmonious vocalization.
* {{quote-book, 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, chapter=The Tutor's Daughter, Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page=266
, passage=In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.}}
To soothe with singing.
(slang) To confess under interrogation.
To make a small, shrill sound.
* Alexander Pope
To relate in verse; to celebrate in poetry.
* Prior
A gathering for the purpose of singing songs.
* 2002 , Martha Mizell Puckett, ?Hoyle B. Puckett, Memories of a Georgia Teacher: Fifty Years in the Classroom (page 198)
Tell is a synonym of sing.
As verbs the difference between Tell and sing
is that Tell is (lb) to count, reckon, or enumerate while sing is to produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice.As nouns the difference between Tell and sing
is that Tell is a reflexive, often habitual behavior, (especially) one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold or Tell can be (archaeology) a mound, originally in the middle east, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements while sing is a gathering for the purpose of singing songs.Tell
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) ((etyl) telja). More at tale.Verb
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=“
Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.}}
Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia, passage=But England's superior fitness told in the second half, with Delon Armitage, Manu Tuilagi and Chris Ashton (two) going over for tries to secure a bonus-point win.}}
Synonyms
* (enumerate) count * (narrate) narrate, recount, relateAntonyms
* (to instruct or inform) askDerived terms
* all told * tell against * tell all * tell-all * tell off * tell on * tell-tale / telltale * tell tales * tell tales out of school * tellerNoun
(en noun)- I am at the end of my tell .
See also
* dead giveawayEtymology 2
From (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)Statistics
* 200 English basic words English control verbs English irregular verbs English reporting verbs English verbs with two objects 1000 English basic words ---- ==Norwegian Bokmål==Verb
(head)sing
English
Verb
- "I really want to sing in the school choir." said Vera .
citation
- to sing somebody to sleep
- The air sings in passing through a crevice.
- O'er his head the flying spear / Sang innocent, and spent its force in air.
- Bid her sing / Of human hope by cross event destroyed.
- (Milton)
Derived terms
* besing * sing along / sing-along * singer * sing from the same hymnbook * singing cowboy * sing out * singsong * sing soprano * sing the praisesSee also
* singeNoun
(en noun)- Some of the young folks asked Mrs. Long could they have a sing at her home that Sunday afternoon; she readily agreed, telling them to come early, bring their songbooks, and have a good sing.