These words are comparable in the general sense of communicating with others in speech or writing. Tell , the least formal of the group, is applicable in many contexts where others would be more exact or pertinent, but in the sense of making something known or of disclosing or revealing, it is the word of choice: He would not tell who was to blame.

Narrate and relate both imply conscious and deliberate attention to the communication of a story, suggesting an orderly arrangement of the details with a view to continuity, completeness and artistic effect.

• Dofoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island: The Odyssey relates the misfortunes of Ulysses after the Trojan War.

Recount carries the idea of a more careful enumeration of the particulars of whatever is being called to mind and communicated: the witness recounted the events leading up to the crime. Recite may be used in the same sense but is more pertinent when it refers to something clearly remembered or repeated from memory: to recite the Twenty-Third Psalm. Report implies giving an account of something with a more formal attention to details and to accuracy in the presentation of the relevant facts and information: to committee reported its findings after a thorough investigation.

Convey has the primary meaning of carry or transport from one place to another; by extension, one can convey information, convey an impression or idea. Impart is to make known or disclose in the sense of sharing with another person: to impart one’s suspicions about a crime.