retell

retell — verb

1. to repeat a story, piece of news, or information to someone, often using differe

1.動詞及物B1
釋義

to repeat a story, piece of news, or information to someone, often using different words or adding personal detail

例句

Hiro's grandmother retold how her family came to Taiwan after the war.

retell + how-clause for recounting past events

The news anchor retold the day's events in simple words for young viewers.

retell + events for news coverage

同義詞
  • recount

    more formal; suggests giving a detailed, step-by-step account

  • narrate

    more literary; implies structured storytelling with a clear beginning and end

  • repeat

    broader meaning; can refer to saying anything again, often word-for-word

文法句型

retell + noun phrase

retell + noun phrase + to + person

用法筆記

Object is usually a narrative, account, or set of information that the listener has heard before. Unlike 'repeat', retelling often involves rephrasing or summarising rather than saying the exact same words.

常見錯誤

❌Please retell me the joke.
✅Please tell me the joke again.
💡'retell' takes the content as direct object; the listener is introduced by 'to', not as a direct object.
❌She retold again the story.
✅She retold the story again.
💡'again' is redundant with the 're-' prefix but still used for emphasis; place it after the object.

2. to deliver a joke you picked up from someone else, or to say a joke once more af

2.動詞及物B2
釋義

to deliver a joke you picked up from someone else, or to say a joke once more after already having told it

例句

Bilal retold the same joke at every party, but people still laughed.

retell + joke; informal spoken context

Constanza tried to retell the joke from her coworker, but she forgot the punchline.

retell + joke + from [source person]

同義詞
  • repeat

    more general; works for any kind of information, not just jokes

  • rehash

    negative connotation; suggests telling something old or unoriginal

文法句型

retell + a joke

retell + joke + to + person

用法筆記

This sense is restricted to jokes and humorous stories — not used for other types of information. Common in informal spoken English. The listener may or may not have heard the joke before; the focus is on the act of delivering a joke that originates from somewhere else.

常見錯誤

❌He retold me the joke.
✅He retold the joke to me.
💡'retell' requires 'to' before the indirect object; it does not allow a double-object construction like 'tell me'.