TELLING

(archaic outside of idioms) to count, reckon, or enumerate.

Example: "All told, there were over a dozen.  can you tell time on a clock?  he had untold wealth."

To narrate.

Example: "I want to tell a story;  i want to tell you a story."

To convey by speech; to say.

Example: "Finally, someone told him the truth.  he seems to like to tell lies."

To instruct or inform.

Example: "Please tell me how to do it."

To order; to direct, to say to someone.

Example: "Tell him to go away."

To discern, notice, identify or distinguish.

Example: "Can you tell whether those flowers are real or silk, from this distance?  no, there's no way to tell."

To reveal.

Example: "Time will tell what became of him."

To be revealed.

To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.

Example: "Sir gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell."

To use (beads or similar objects) as an aid to prayer.

To inform someone in authority about a wrongdoing.

Example: "I saw you steal those sweets! i'm going to tell!"

(authorship) to reveal information in prose through outright expository statement -- contrasted with show

Example: "Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about meg and sage's friendship to have less telling and more showing."