revealing
Americanadjective
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eye-opening or enlightening; disclosing much.
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(of a garment) showing areas of the body that are usually kept covered.
adjective
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of significance or import
a very revealing experience
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showing or designed to show more of the body than is usual or conventional
a revealing costume
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Use the adjective revealing to describe disclosing something that was hidden, either literally or figuratively. If you ask people if they've ever cheated on a test, you may get revealing answers that tell you whether the person is honest or not. Revealing comes from the Latin word revelare, which literally means "unveil," and that word has its roots in re-, meaning "the opposite of," and velare meaning "to cover or veil." It is little wonder that the adjective revealing is often used to describe clothing that leaves little to the imagination. If your daughter's date comes to the door in a revealing shirt with almost every button undone, you might ask him to put on a jacket or else he'll be sure to catch cold.
Vocabulary lists containing revealing
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
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"The Dead and the Gone" Susan Beth Pfeffer, Chapters 11–14
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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.
Are you conscious of revealing yourself onstage or just thinking about what’s funny?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
He initially listed the Brentwood estate for $28.9 million in February 2023, revealing at the time that he was no longer spending much time there.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
The Criterion Collection package also includes Kubrick’s three short films, archival interviews, and several documentaries about the director—including the revealing one made by Vivian Kubrick, who followed her dad around as he filmed “The Shining.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Scientists have uncovered a previously unknown cleanup system at the back of the eye, revealing a hidden route that allows fluid and waste to escape into the body's lymphatic system.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Her eyes roll back into her head, revealing the veins in her scleras.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
