tell off

T t

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [tel awf, of]
- /tɛl ɔf, ɒf/
- /tel ɒf/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [tel awf, of]
- /tɛl ɔf, ɒf/

Definitions of tell off words

verb with object tell off to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.): to tell the story of Lincoln's childhood. 1
verb with object tell off to make known by speech or writing (a fact, news, information, etc.); communicate. 1
verb with object tell off to announce or proclaim. 1
verb with object tell off to utter (the truth, a lie, etc.). 1
verb with object tell off to express in words (thoughts, feelings, etc.). 1
verb with object tell off to reveal or divulge (something secret or private). 1

See all 27 definitions of tell off

Information block about the term

Origin of tell off

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English tellen, Old English tellan to relate, count; cognate with Dutch tellen to reckon, count, Old Norse telja to count, say, Old High German zellēn; akin to tale

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Tell off

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Tell off

tell off popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

tell off usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for tell off

verb tell off

admonish — If you admonish someone, you tell them very seriously that they have done something wrong.
animadvert — to comment with strong criticism (upon); make censorious remarks (about)
bawl out — If someone bawls you out, they shout at you angrily because you have done something wrong.
beat off — to drive back; repel
berate — If you berate someone, you speak to them angrily about something they have done wrong.

All 53 Synonyms of tell off