tell against

Verb

tell against (third-person singular simple present tells against, present participle telling against, simple past and past participle told against)

1. (idiomatic, transitive) To function as a liability (for someone); to put into a condition of disadvantage.
   • [S]ome people . . . have been so short-sighted and reckless as to clamor for an easy dissolution of the marriage-contract. . . . Is it possible that they do not see that this is a liberty which, once granted, would always tell against the weaker sex?1871, Harriet Beecher Stowe, chapter 27, in Pink and White Tyranny
   • Ernest's want of muscular strength did not tell against him here.1903, Samuel Butler, chapter 34, in The Way of All Flesh

   Synonyms:

   disadvantage, weigh against

2. (idiomatic, transitive) To serve as evidence which casts doubt upon.
   • She knew he was disposed to catch at anything that seemed to tell against Godwin's claims.1892, George Gissing, chapter 2, in Born In Exile
   • "Such a fact must tell against the theory."1905, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons,”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes

   Synonyms:

   discredit, weigh against