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• revelation
  revelation

  noun

  the act of revealing or disclosing; disclosure.
• Revelation
  Revelation

  noun

  (popularly, often plural) the last book of the New Testament, containing visionary descriptions of heaven, of conflicts between good and evil, and of the end of the world

revelation

American  

[rev-uh-ley-shuhn] / ˌrɛv əˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

• revelations
  plural

1. the act of revealing or disclosing; disclosure.

   The revelation of previously hidden facts about the group’s activities changed the situation completely.

   Synonyms:

   exposure, divulgence, admission

2. something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, such as of something not before realized.

   Her memoir contained several fascinating revelations about her love life.

3. Theology.

   1. God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures.

   2. an instance of such communication or disclosure.

   3. something thus communicated or disclosed.

   4. something that contains such disclosure, as the Bible.

4. Also called The Revelation of St. John the Divine.  Revelation. the last book in the New Testament; the Apocalypse. Rev.

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revelation ¹ British  

/ ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of disclosing something previously secret or obscure, esp something true

2. a fact disclosed or revealed, esp in a dramatic or surprising way

3. Christianity

   1. God's disclosure of his own nature and his purpose for mankind, esp through the words of human intermediaries

   2. something in which such a divine disclosure is contained, such as the Bible

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Revelation ² British  

/ ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. Also called: the Apocalypse.   the Revelation of Saint John the Divine.  (popularly, often plural) the last book of the New Testament, containing visionary descriptions of heaven, of conflicts between good and evil, and of the end of the world

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrevelation
  noun
• prerevelation
  noun
• revelational
  adjective
• unrevelational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• revelations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of revelation

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English revelacion, revelacioun, from Anglo-French revelaciun, revelacioun, revelatiun, from Middle French revelacion, revelation, from Late Latin revēlātiōn- (stem of revēlātiō ), equivalent to Latin revēlā(tus) , past participle of revēlāre “to remove the cover from, unveil, lift the lid of, uncover” + -tiōn- verbal noun suffix dentoting the action of the verb; see also reveal, -tion; cf. apocalypse ( def. )

Explanation

Discovering that you had a long-lost sister would definitely be a revelation, or a surprising realization. Finding out she had been living in the house next door for years would be an even more startling revelation! It is not a surprise that the word revelation is related to the word reveal, because revealing is the action of showing something that was previously covered up or unknown. You can even use both words in the same sentence: "You might find it a revelation if someone revealed to you that your house was sitting on top of a gold mine!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

revelation Revelation revelations

When Ron Shaich’s father was close to dying, he had a revelation: He had messed up in life, making poorly considered decisions and living impulsively.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

BRUSSELS—Belgium’s revelation that it had arrested a Chinese citizen on suspicion of stealing advanced microchip technology is fueling European anxiety about Beijing’s trade practices and quest for industrial secrets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

But when Louis Theroux met Dimoldenberg the big takeaway wasn't a new, personal revelation.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

That was the revelation that the national debt had reached $40 trillion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

That was the truth, and it hit him like a revelation.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

Revelation, God’s relation to the human, is an even more intimate shock: not a doctrine delivered, but an address, an encounter in which the “I” discovers itself summoned as a “you.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

Revelation after revelation about Andrew's behaviour has prompted an unusual level of chatter.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025

On one hand, there’s the pre-millennial interpretation of the Book of Revelation shared by most evangelical Christians: The world gets worse and worse until the day of Rapture and the last judgment.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2024

Mr. Kinley’s new book, “God’s Grand Finale,” details last-days events in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 6, 2023

My favorite is the Book of Revelation, which is about the end of the world, with demons and angels having these big wars.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle

A number of revelations emerged in evidence about errors in Calocane's care, his previous interactions with police and failings both during and in the aftermath of the attacks.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Last week, revelations came out that it wasn’t just one AI thingamajig that had caused this chaos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

The revelations about the discussions, from someone familiar with the rulemaking process, come as a separate anonymous federal employee filed a whistleblower disclosure with U.S.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

A series of communications among Spain's top police officers amid the revelations "does not make it possible to establish the involvement of any government, service, agency or person", a ministry statement said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

I marveled at the Book of John, with its terrible revelations of angels and beasts loosed at the end of time.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Related Words

• announcement
• discovery
• epiphany
• leak
• news