State
State verb - To convey in appropriate or telling terms.
Usage example: please state the vehicle's mechanical problem as clearly and briefly as possible
Tell is a synonym for state in express topic. In some cases you can use "Tell" instead a verb "State", when it comes to topics like declare, words. popular alternative
Tell
Tell verb - To give an oral or written account of in some detail.
Usage example: they told the story of how they had met
State is a synonym for tell in communicate topic. You can use "State" instead the word "Tell" as a verb or a noun, if it concerns topics such as words, narrate, speak. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Among several other abilities, their sense of smell is enhanced so much that they can tell the emotional state of people around them even without any visual cues.
Source: The Nose Knows - I want to tell you the sad story of the cousin of a student who a friend of mine taught at a neighboring school in the state just to the east of the state that Springfield is in.
Source: Paste Eater -
To tell that she is a badass, the narrator, Alice herself and/or other characters around her would merely state that fact.
Source: Show, Don't Tell
Cite this Source
Tell and State. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/state/tell
State & Tell. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/state/tell>.
Tell or State. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/state/tell.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "state" and "tell" have occurred on timeline