ENGLISH
REFERENCE

tell apart

idiom
Meaning

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


Examples
SIMPLE

I cannot tell these two identical twins apart.

CONTEXTUAL

The colors are so similar that it is difficult to tell them apart in this dim light.

COMPLEX

Even the most experienced experts struggle to tell apart the original masterpiece from the remarkably precise modern forgery.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    come apart at the seams

    Synonym of fall apart.

  2. 02

    don't tell me

    Used to introduce a guess at a fact or situation, as if forestalling the other speaker's utterance.

  3. 03

    drift apart

    To lose contact, to lose one's friendship or closeness.

  4. 04

    fall apart

    To be emotionally in crisis.

  5. 05

    grow apart

    To gradually become estranged.

  6. 06

    I can tell you

    Emphasises the truth of a statement.

  7. 07

    I tell a lie

    I am mistaken; I thought that what I said (or wrote) was true, but I have just realised that it is not.

  8. 08

    I tell you

    Synonym of I can tell you.

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