tell the difference
idiom
: to see how two or more people or things are unlike each other
It's hard to tell the difference between one action movie and another.
The new version is supposed to be much better than the old one, but I can't tell the difference (between them).
Examples of tell the difference in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The 60 people slaughtered and hundreds injured by the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooter in 2017 certainly couldn’t tell the difference between rifles modified internally or externally as the gunman rained down up to 100 rounds in a single burst of gunfire.
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New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 17 June 2024
That’s the case even if the images are fake because other students may not be able to tell the difference.
—Anna North, Vox, 2 May 2024
Some hardcore enthusiasts can tell the difference between SA keycaps and the Commodore 64's original keycaps, but this is still a strong choice from 8BitDo, (plus the original Commodore 64 keycaps wouldn't fit on modern mechanical switches without some modding).
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 29 Mar. 2024
Weather lingo:Here's the most Indiana way to tell the difference between a tornado watch and a warning
How to attend Skywarn training sessions
Sessions last around two hours, and most do not require registration.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tell the difference 
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 17 June 2024
That’s the case even if the images are fake because other students may not be able to tell the difference.
—Anna North, Vox, 2 May 2024
Some hardcore enthusiasts can tell the difference between SA keycaps and the Commodore 64's original keycaps, but this is still a strong choice from 8BitDo, (plus the original Commodore 64 keycaps wouldn't fit on modern mechanical switches without some modding).
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 29 Mar. 2024
Weather lingo:Here's the most Indiana way to tell the difference between a tornado watch and a warning
How to attend Skywarn training sessions
Sessions last around two hours, and most do not require registration.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tell the difference
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tell the difference.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tell the difference
Cite this Entry
“Tell the difference.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20the%20difference. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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