disclose
Americanverb (used with object)
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discloses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disclosed,
past participle, past
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disclosing
present participle
noun
verb
-
to make (information) known
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to allow to be seen; lay bare
Synonym Usage
See reveal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disclosesimple
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disclosessimple
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have disclosedperfect
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has disclosedperfect
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am disclosingprogressive
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are disclosingprogressive
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is disclosingprogressive
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have been disclosingperfect progressive
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has been disclosingperfect progressive
Past
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disclosedsimple
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had disclosedperfect
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was disclosingprogressive
-
were disclosingprogressive
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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:
While German officials did not disclose the suspect's nationality, the Romanian police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was one of the two young Ukrainians arrested in October.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Counter terrorism police said Hekmat Omar Ali Hakim, 49, of St James Road, Higher Broughton, Salford, had been charged with failing to disclose information regarding terrorist activity.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Earlier this year, the CMA ordered two other driving schools to give refunds to more than 80,000 customers after they did not disclose the total price for lessons upfront during the online booking process.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
In a new enforcement bulletin to be released Wednesday, the commission will tell companies that they must disclose when they use highly detailed information about individuals to personalize a price offer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
But the doctor said Bill never did disclose anything relevant.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
"It was a green tea," the singer discloses.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
EBay rises after GameStop discloses it has made a bid for the e-commerce company.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
Plus, Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh discloses vast wealth, and a new restaurant lets you bid on art masterpieces from the table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
Not all of the insider trades he discloses are buys and sales that pay him cash, however.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026
The record, however, discloses Alvarez’s testimony to be an ill-disguised act of score settling.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Saffronart has not disclosed the buyer's identity but said the notes would remain in India.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Real estate developer Edward P. Roski, one of the Lakers’ other known minority owners, has not disclosed whether he intends to sell his 3% stake in the team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
No firm disclosed a pledge and the agreement still needs definitive contracts, so the pitch matters more than the number.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
The actual doses being used in the trial weren’t disclosed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He said this gravely, like he’d disclosed to me that she had breast cancer.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
"I was hoping it would be a quick recovery, but it was more complicated than they expected," she told fans, external, without disclosing the nature of the procedure.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Elon Musk’s rocket company beat Wall Street expectations last night but rattled investors by disclosing plans for massive AI spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Earlier this month, India said it believed usernames might increase online fraud, impersonation and other crimes by allowing criminals to contact potential victims without disclosing their phone numbers.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
So after analyzing three years of data, I found some strong AI adopters that were disclosing real impact.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
He gave their address directly to the bookseller and then wrote them a letter of apology for disclosing their address.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
