The difference between Ask and Tell
When used as nouns, ask means an act or instance of asking, whereas tell means a reflexive, often habitual behavior, one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.
When used as verbs, ask means to (information, or an answer to a question), whereas tell means to count, reckon, or enumerate.
check bellow for the other definitions of Ask and Tell
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Ask as a verb:
To (information, or an answer to a question).
Examples:
"I asked her age."
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Ask as a verb:
To (a question) to be answered.
Examples:
"to ask a question"
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Ask as a verb:
To or enquire of (a person).
Examples:
"I'm going to ask this lady for directions."
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Ask as a verb:
To request or petition; usually with for.
Examples:
"to ask for a second helping at dinner"
"to ask for help with homework"
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Ask as a verb:
To request permission to do something.
Examples:
"She asked to see the doctor."
"Did you ask to use the car?"
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Ask as a verb:
To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.
Examples:
"What price are you asking for the house?"
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Ask as a verb:
To invite.
Examples:
"Don't ask them to the wedding."
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Ask as a verb:
To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
Examples:
"rfquotek Fuller"
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Ask as a verb (figuratively):
To take (a person's situation) as an example.
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Ask as a noun:
An act or instance of asking.
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Ask as a noun:
Something asked or asked for; a request.
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Ask as a noun:
An asking price.
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Ask as a noun (UK, _, dialectal, and, Scotland):
An eft; newt.
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Ask as a noun (UK, _, dialectal):
A lizard.
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Tell as a verb (transitive):
To count, reckon, or enumerate.
Examples:
"All told, there were over a dozen.  Can you tell time on a clock?  He had untold wealth."
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Tell as a verb (transitive):
To narrate.
Examples:
"I want to tell a story;  I want to tell you a story."
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Tell as a verb (transitive):
To convey by speech; to say.
Examples:
"Finally, someone told him the truth.  He seems to like to tell lies."
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Tell as a verb (transitive):
To instruct or inform.
Examples:
"Please tell me how to do it."
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Tell as a verb (transitive):
To order; to direct, to say to someone.
Examples:
"'Tell him to go away."
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Tell as a verb (intransitive):
To discern, notice, identify or distinguish.
Examples:
"Can you tell whether those flowers are real or silk, from this distance?  No, there's no way to tell."
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Tell as a verb (transitive):
To reveal.
Examples:
"Time will tell what became of him."
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Tell as a verb (intransitive):
To be revealed.
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Tell as a verb (intransitive):
To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.
Examples:
"Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell."
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Tell as a verb:
To use beads or similar objects as an aid to prayer.
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Tell as a verb (intransitive, childish):
To inform someone in authority about a wrongdoing.
Examples:
"I saw you steal those sweets! I'm going to tell!"
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Tell as a verb:
To reveal information in prose through outright expository statement -- contrasted with show
Examples:
"Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about Meg and Sage's friendship to have less telling and more showing."
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Tell as a noun:
A reflexive, often habitual behavior, one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.
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Tell as a noun (archaic):
That which is told; a tale or account.
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Tell as a noun (internet):
A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.
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Tell as a noun (archaeology):
A hill or mound, originally and especially in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.