disclose
Americanverb (used with object)
-
discloses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disclosed,
past participle, past
-
disclosing
present participle
noun
verb
-
to make (information) known
-
to allow to be seen; lay bare
Synonym Usage
See reveal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disclosesimple
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disclosessimple
-
have disclosedperfect
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has disclosedperfect
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am disclosingprogressive
-
are disclosingprogressive
-
is disclosingprogressive
-
have been disclosingperfect progressive
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has been disclosingperfect progressive
Past
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disclosedsimple
-
had disclosedperfect
-
was disclosingprogressive
-
were disclosingprogressive
-
had been disclosingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disclose
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English disclosen, desclosen, from Old French desclos-, stem of desclore, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + clore “to close,” from Latin claudere; see close
Explanation
Disclose means to reveal or expose information that has previously been kept a secret — like a politician might be forced to disclose his finances or former scandals while running for office. When a politician, corporate executive, or celebrity announces that he or she has something to disclose, the public listens. They know that the information they're about to hear was kept secret for a reason. Something incriminating or juicy is about to be revealed, like a secret affair or plummeting company profits.
Vocabulary lists containing disclose
Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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A Christmas Carol
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The Launch of Sputnik 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The family of murdered student Henry Nowak have said police gave changing accounts of the events surrounding his death and did not initially disclose they had handcuffed him as he lay dying.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
The communiqué didn’t disclose specifics from the strategic plan, though the party has typically released more details in the days after a plenum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Under guidelines issued by the government in 2021, Japanese estate agents must disclose suicide, murder, death by fire, and any death where the body was not discovered for an extended period of time.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The studio did not disclose its production budget.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Hoover was careful not to disclose the bureau’s earlier bungling.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
In a letter to university leadership, hundreds of graduates have pledged to halt unrestricted donations until Cornell discloses how it handled evidence in its internal investigation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The City Council’s committee on the Olympics heard about the insurance request Wednesday and also got an update on the dispute with LA28 over what the group discloses in its annual reports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Plus, Steve Witkoff discloses his finances and John Deere introduces a farmer-friendly chatbot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv discloses the total number of foreign soldiers in their ranks.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
The record, however, discloses Alvarez’s testimony to be an ill-disguised act of score settling.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
In February, Edison disclosed that the Los Angeles County district attorney was investigating whether Edison should be criminally charged for its actions leading to the Eaton fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
The revenue increase was partially offset by $600 million in price reductions introduced from new model versions and contractual discounts, the company disclosed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Little gets disclosed about his health, even when he’s sprightly enough to play.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
The warnings came as Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei disclosed on Saturday that he had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance seeking to revive talks.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
But “once out upon the street, the magnitude of the fire was suddenly disclosed to me.”
From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy
“The registration process often involves disclosing personal financial information. At the seminar, essentially, the salesperson is paying for a captive audience.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
The document also contains a confidentiality clause barring Betancourt’s company from disclosing the “existence and terms” of the U.S. government agreement.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
Just over half responded, disclosing a total of 1,280 cases investigated by professional standards departments in the three years to January.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Unilever isn’t disclosing the terms of the Welly sale, which is set to be announced Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
These suspicions were later confirmed by newspaper reports disclosing that the South African police had secretly funded Inkatha.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
