telltales

noun

plural of telltale
1
as in gossipers
a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others the media's professional telltales have basically decided that today's celebrities have no right to privacy

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2
as in informants
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing the department telltale told the boss that his coworkers were taking extra long breaks

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of telltales Torry’s wife, a speech therapist, noticed concerning telltales that led to a diagnosis 14 years ago, when Torry was only 40 years old. — Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 1 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for telltales
  1. gossipers
  2. informants
  3. gossips
  4. informers
  5. canaries
Noun
  • Jessica Simpson has gotten used to gossipers gossiping about her private life.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of gossipers
Noun
  • Remember those jailhouse informants who claimed Kezer had confessed?
    — Peter Henderson, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Detectives relied on confidential informants to bust the operation – an informant who purchased drugs from Robinson blew the operation open.
    — Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of informants
Noun
  • Group chats have—rightfully—earned a reputation as containers for gossips or for the airing of grievances that someone might not want to fully offer out loud to the public, and mine are not absent those things, from time to time.
    — Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Though the Colonel had many enemies, the violence of his death shocks the sleepy village and starts the tongues of the local gossips wagging.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 15 July 2026
Definition of gossips
Noun
  • One of State Security’s main goals, as well as a central source of its strength, is turning civilians into informers.
    — Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 19 May 2026
  • And so every regime invests in having student informers.
    — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of informers
Noun
  • The Edge and Adam Clayton both release canaries into the air in slow motion.
    — Al Shipley, SPIN, 26 June 2026
  • These living materials could also serve as canaries in the coal mine for water safety, glowing brighter or dimming in the presence of specific toxins.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026
Definition of canaries

Browse Nearby Words

telltale
telltales
telly
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Cite this Entry

“Telltales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/telltales. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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