Word.ws English Dictionary

tells it like it is

tells it like it is is the third-person singular simple present indicative of tell it like it is.

Meaning of tell it like it is

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To speak frankly, to convey all and only the truth of a situation.

Questions about tells it like it is

What is tells it like it is the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Tells it like it is is the third-person singular simple present indicative of tell it like it is.

Words near tells it like it is in the dictionary

  1. tells a story
  2. tells against
  3. tells all
  4. tells apart
  5. tells fortunes
  6. tells it like it is
  7. tells it to the hand
  8. tells its own tale
  9. tells noses
  10. tells of
  11. tells off

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tells it like it is (page history and authors); tell it like it is (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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