Tellingly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that clearly reveals a hidden truth or meaningful underlying fact about a situation
2. Showing something important through its signs, so that the real meaning becomes apparent to observers
3. Revealingly, in a way that makes an underlying feeling, quality or condition plainly evident to those watching

Etymology: "Tellingly" is simply "telling" with the adverb ending "-ly" attached, and the suffix carries more history than the base word. The "-ly" comes from Old English "-līċe," a suffix descended from the noun "līc," meaning "body" or "form," so an adverb like this was originally a description of something done in the manner or appearance of a particular kind. Over the centuries this ending shortened to "-ly" in Middle English and became one of the most productive ways in English to turn an adjective into an adverb. "Telling" in the sense of revealing something about a person or situation comes from the verb "tell," which traces back through Old English "tellan" to a Germanic root meaning "to count" or "to reckon." The older idea of counting out items one by one gradually gave way to recounting a story, and then to the sense of disclosing information, which is the meaning behind "telling" as an adjective.

Synonyms: revealingly, significantly, expressively

Antonyms: ambiguously, inconclusively