tell of
phrasal verb
told of; telling of; tells of
formal + literary
1
: to be evidence of (something) : to indicate
Her smile told of her good news.
His rough hands tell of a hard life.
2
: to describe (something) : to make the details of (something) known
The article tells of her Arctic journey.
3
: to talk to (someone) about (something)
He told us of his plans to move to the city.
Examples of tell of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This powerful film tells of the friendship between a young man and a peasant farmer who has devoted his life to planting trees throughout his desolate homeland.
—
Jeremy Fassler, Vulture, 2 Mar. 2025
Newspaper reporters told of multiple arrests of Chinese people at the Texas & Pacific Railroad station as early as 1903.
—Richard J. Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Mar. 2025
Holding grief and joy in each hand, Peters’ latest tells of tradition, systemic discrimination and resilience.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025
The traumatized men told of their efforts to organize a union of Black sharecroppers and tenant farmers to gain economic independence.
—Christmaelle Vernet & Kathy Roberts Forde / Made By History, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tell of
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jeremy Fassler, Vulture, 2 Mar. 2025
Newspaper reporters told of multiple arrests of Chinese people at the Texas & Pacific Railroad station as early as 1903.
—Richard J. Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Mar. 2025
Holding grief and joy in each hand, Peters’ latest tells of tradition, systemic discrimination and resilience.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025
The traumatized men told of their efforts to organize a union of Black sharecroppers and tenant farmers to gain economic independence.
—Christmaelle Vernet & Kathy Roberts Forde / Made By History, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tell of
Cite this Entry
“Tell of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20of. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share