retell

R1E1T1E1L1L1
/ɹiˈtɛl/

verb

To tell again, often differently, what one has read or heard; to paraphrase.

“He had to retell the story several times before it was understood.”

Similar
recitefictionalizefictionaliserepeatreiterateingeminateiteraterestate
OriginEnglish tell ← Middle English re- ← Old French re- →
UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

verbretell (third-person singular simple present retells, present participle retelling, simple past and past participle retold)

present singular third person retells · participle present retelling · participle past retold · past retold

  1. To tell again, often differently, what one has read or heard; to paraphrase.

    He had to retell the story several times before it was understood.

    3 more examples

    She will retell the story from her perspective in the next meeting.

    The author decided to retell the classic fairy tale with a modern twist.

    But if you really insist she'll retell the unfortunate case of a man named Sean Doyle.

    2025 February 8, Brenna Cooper, “Medical examiner reveals worst death she has seen is the case of man who was thrown down a manhole into boiling water”, in LADBible, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2025

Synonyms & antonyms

verbrender verbally

Similar
recite
Broader
re-createrecreate

verbmake into fiction

Similar
fictionalizefictionalise
Broader
re-createrecreate

verbto say, state, or perform again

Similar
repeatreiterateingeminateiteraterestate
Broader
tell
Also see
fictionalizeingeminateiteraterecitereiteraterepeatrestate

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Italic*wre-
  2. Latinre-
  3. Old Frenchre-
  4. Middle Englishre-
  5. Englishre-
  6. Englishtell
  7. Englishretell

From re- + tell.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سَرَدَ, نَقَلَ
  • سَرَدَ (sarada)to tell again
  • نَقَلَ (naqala)to tell again
Chinese Mandarin 復述 /复述
  • 復述 /复述 (fùshù)to tell again
Finnish kertoa, kertoa omin sanoin
  • kertoato tell again
  • kertoa omin sanointo tell again
French raconter de nouveau, redire
  • raconter de nouveauto tell again
  • redireto tell again
German wiedererzählen, nacherzählen
  • wiedererzählento tell again
  • nacherzählento tell again
Japanese 再び語る
  • 再び語る (futatabi kataru)to tell again
Latin renarrō
  • renarrōto tell again
Māori takirua
  • takiruato tell again
Norwegian Bokmål gjenfortelle
  • gjenfortelleto tell again
Russian переска́зывать, пересказа́ть
  • переска́зывать (pereskázyvatʹ)to tell again
  • пересказа́ть (pereskazátʹ)to tell again
Spanish contar de nuevo, redecir
  • contar de nuevoto tell again
  • redecirto tell again

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with retell

wellhotellsellcelltelleldelpersonneldellNFLshellfellexcelMichellegeldlmotelspellsmellrebelbellemelmichel
All rhymes →

Anagrams

teller
Cite this entry
APA

retell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retell

MLA

“retell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retell. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retell,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retell.

Source: retell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.