tell apart

verb

To perceive things as different, or to perceive their difference itself; to differentiate, distinguish, discriminate.

“Can you tell me (apart) from my twin brother?”

Similar
decerndiscerndifferentiatedifferentializediscriminatedistinguishset aparttell
Opposite
confusemix upmuddle upoverlook
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Meanings

verbtell apart (third-person singular simple present tells apart, present participle telling apart, simple past and past participle told apart)

present singular third person tells apart · participle present telling apart · participle past told apart · past told apart

  1. idiomaticTo perceive things as different, or to perceive their difference itself; to differentiate, distinguish, discriminate.

    Can you tell me (apart) from my twin brother?

    1 more example

    They are identical twins, and if they dress the same, everybody has trouble telling them apart.

    Synonyms: decern, discern, differentiate, differentialize, discriminate, distinguish, set apart, tell

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo perceive things as different, or to perceive their difference itself; to differentiate, distinguish, discriminate.

Similar
decerndiscerndifferentiatedifferentializediscriminatedistinguishset aparttell
Opposite
confusemix upmuddle upoverlook

More synonyms by meaning

verbdetect with the senses

Similar
spotrecognizerecognisedistinguishdiscernpick outmake out
Broader
detectobservefind

verbmark as different

Similar
distinguishseparatedifferentiatesecernsecernateseveralizeseveralisetell
Broader
identifyplace
Also see
differentiatediscerndistinguishmake outpick outrecognizesecernsecernateseparateseveralizespottell

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Finnish erottaa
  • erottaato distinguish
French distinguer, différencier
  • distinguerto distinguish
  • différencierto distinguish
German auseinanderhalten, unterscheiden
  • auseinanderhaltento distinguish
  • unterscheidento distinguish
Hungarian megkülönböztet
  • megkülönböztetto distinguish
Italian differenziare, distinguere
  • differenziareto distinguish
  • distinguereto distinguish
  • discriminareto distinguish
Latin internoscō
  • internoscōto distinguish
Polish rozróżniać, rozróżnić
  • rozróżniaćto distinguish
  • rozróżnićto distinguish
Portuguese distinguir
  • distinguirto distinguish
Russian различа́ть, различи́ть
  • различа́ть (različátʹ)to distinguish
  • различи́ть (različítʹ)to distinguish
  • отлича́ть (otličátʹ)to distinguish
  • отличи́ть (otličítʹ)to distinguish
Swedish skilja
  • skiljato distinguish
Ukrainian розрізня́ти, розрізни́ти
  • розрізня́ти (rozriznjáty)to distinguish
  • розрізни́ти (rozriznýty)to distinguish
Cite this entry
APA

tell apart. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tell%20apart

MLA

“tell apart.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tell%20apart. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tell apart,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tell%20apart.

Source: tell apart on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.