told 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of toldnext
as in said

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

told

2 of 2

verb

past tense of tell
1
as in described
to give an oral or written account of in some detail they told the story of how they had met

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in talked
to express (a thought or emotion) in words just tell us what is in your heart

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in counted
to find the sum of (a collection of things) by noting each one as it is being added who can tell the number of grains of sand in the world?

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in informed
to give information to tell me, when did you begin playing the violin?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in instructed
to issue orders to (someone) by right of authority told us to sit still and wait

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in revealed
to make known (as information previously kept secret) I won't tell your secret to anyone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of told
Verb
The infant, who is 9 months old, was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital. — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026 The crash site was forest in 1944, but it was later excavated for rice cultivation, Fong told Jackson. — Kocha Olarn, CNN Money, 1 July 2026 Also Tuesday, the trial’s seventh day, Arriola told the jury about two video cameras King placed inside his office, one atop a printer, the other facing the door. — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 July 2026 Haley Williams, a spokesperson for the police department, told the Idaho Statesman in a text message that officers are searching the area for the driver of the vehicle who fled the scene. — Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 23 June 2026 While promoting Cape Fear on the SmartLess podcast, Adams told the story of saving a man’s life in Santa Monica. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 23 June 2026 Mizuho Americas analyst Dan Dolev told the Journal that the majority of these cuts probably trace to a post-pandemic hiring correction rather than AI itself. — Cindy Rodriguez Constable, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 Three older adults, aged from 80 to 95, died over the weekend in the Bordeaux region from health issues caused by the heat wave, local government official Sophie Brocas told France TV late on Sunday. — Makini Brice, USA Today, 23 June 2026 After the assemblies, longtime Colorado Democratic strategist Mike Dino told CBS Colorado that DeGette's name recognition and congressional seniority were significant advantages in the race, but that her poor showing caught him off guard. — Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for told
  1. said
  2. described
  3. talked
  4. counted
  5. informed
  6. instructed
  7. revealed
  8. stated
Adjective
  • Instead, Andrea struck up a surprising romance with Garrett (Riley Green), which was met with mixed reviews from said fans.
    — Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026
  • The models specifically reproduced how said particles would interact with the expanding shell of material shrugged off by the supernova's dying progenitor star.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 25 May 2026
Definition of said
Verb
  • One person, described only as a male, was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to fire officials.
    — Jasmine Mendez Follow, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
  • Investigators previously described the suspect as a man, but during a news conference on Friday, prosecutors said Berezovsk was allegedly dressed as a man during the package bomb attack.
    — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 3 July 2026
Definition of described
Verb
  • Both of the soon-to-be newlyweds have talked openly about wanting to have kids.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • Gyllenhaal received the President’s Award on Friday at the festival’s opening night ceremony, and talked to the international press on Saturday in a suite at the neo-baroque Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary.
    — Carole Horst, Variety, 4 July 2026
Definition of talked
Verb
  • The measure could incentivize lawmakers to save more money because funds tucked away in the rainy day fund would no longer be considered expenditures counted toward the spending limit.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Cheri Oteri donned her Barbara Walters drag once again as the network counted down to the United States of America's semiquincentennial.
    — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 4 July 2026
Definition of counted
Verb
  • At the end of May, the Minnesota Department of Human Services informed 3,411 — 62% of the providers screened — that they were disenrolled and could not bill Medicaid.
    — Conor Wight, CBS News, 2 July 2026
  • Containment actions should be proportional, reversible where possible and informed by multiple signals rather than a single brittle heuristic.
    — Abhik Biswas, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of informed
Verb
  • Retailers have also been instructed to remove the products from store shelves.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • Meanwhile, Memmott said he and his family have been instructed by local authorities to prepare to evacuate their home at any moment.
    — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of instructed
Verb
  • While chatting with ExtraTV at the Tight Ends & Friends concert presented by Sports Illustrated and Reese's, San Francisco 49ers player George Kittle confirmed he was invited to the upcoming ceremony — and revealed one of the pair's wedding rules.
    — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
  • Research on elite competitive eaters revealed that some individuals can train to increase the elasticity of their stomachs.
    — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 3 July 2026
Definition of revealed
Adjective
  • Wayfair, with Castlegate, Shein, with its manufacturing network, and Beyond, with its stated goal of being the ‘everything home company’ are each trying to replicate the success of these models.
    — Brian Delp, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • With the call spread strategy in this ETF, a call is sold to generate premium at a stated price, and another call option is bought at the same time at a higher strike price to capture potential upside.
    — Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 23 June 2026
Definition of stated

Phrases Containing told

Browse Nearby Words

tolbooths
told
told (of)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Told.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/told. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on told

Nglish: Translation of told for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All