tell on sb
— phrasal verb with tell uk/tel/us/tel/verb told, told
(INFORM)
informal to give information about someone, usually something bad that they have said or done, especially to a person in authority
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Revealing secrets & becoming known
- (the) word is/gets out idiom
- bare
- be the talk of the town idiom
- break cover idiom
- cat
- dob sb in
- emerge
- fink
- get around (somewhere)
- give sth away
- King's evidence
- leak
- let the cat out of the bag idiom
- open your heart to someone idiom
- sneak
- spill the beans idiom
- take the wraps off sth idiom
- tongues wagging idiom
- turn
- unmask
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(AFFECT BADLY)
to have a bad effect on someone's health or behaviour:
A succession of late nights had begun to tell on him and his work was suffering.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Damaging and spoiling
- adulterate
- alloy
- at the expense of sb idiom
- at-risk
- bandh
- bang up sb/sth
- foul
- gild the lily idiom
- gloss
- gnaw
- gnaw away at sth
- go west idiom
- goonda
- poison
- ravages
- ruin
- scourge
- shatter
- shoot sth up
- sour
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