telltaleadjective [ before noun ]
uk/ˈtel.teɪl/us/ˈtel.teɪl/allowing a secret to become known:
She found lipstick on his shirts - the telltale sign that he was having an affair.
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
- 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
- tell on sb
- tongues wagging idiom
- turn
- unmask
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telltalenoun [ C ]
uk/ˈtel.teɪl/us/ˈtel.teɪl/UK US tattletale disapprovinga person, especially a child, who secretly tells someone in authority, especially a teacher, that someone else has done something bad, often in order to cause trouble
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
People who reveal secrets & tell tales
- big mouth
- blabbermouth
- dobber
- fink
- grass
- informer
- nark
- rat
- rumour-monger
- scandalmonger
- scaremonger
- sneak
- snitch
- source
- stool pigeon
- supergrass
- tattletale
- whistle-blower