tell the difference

phrase

: 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
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Traditional website defenses cannot tell the difference, and end up treating the customer as the threat. — Dvir Ginzburg, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026 Another way to tell the difference is to look at where the leaves attach to the stem. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 22 Oct. 2026 And sometimes people in deep depression cannot tell the difference between mental pain and physical pain, because everything together is a great kind of suffering. — Terry Gross, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026 The court has already said that second half is Congress’ job, and the usual objection — that nobody could tell the difference — is about to stop being true. — John Mildenberger, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tell the difference

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Cite this Entry

“Tell the difference.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20the%20difference. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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