tells apart
Recognizes the difference
To tell apart is to distinguish between similar things or people, recognizing what makes each one different from the others.
The phrase usually appears with an object between the words: I can't tell the twins apart.
How do you tell a crow apart from a raven?
Without context clues, the forgery was impossible to tell apart from the original.
- compareAssess relative likeness
- discriminateTreat unequally based on category
- differentiateIdentify differences between things
- observePerceive with attention
- distinguishRecognize as distinct
perceive · classify · winnow · sift through · contrast · draw a line · sort out · separate the wheat from the chaff · analyze · categorize · identify · spot · detect · segregate · parse · notice · recognize · sense