disclose
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
verb
-
to make (information) known
-
to allow to be seen; lay bare
Related Words
See reveal.
Other Word Forms
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.
I have been asking them to provide accounting, but they are basically saying that was my mother’s business and they can’t disclose her last statement to me.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
Banks share information with supervisors that they could never safely disclose publicly.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
“Obviously, you don’t run an AI ad where you have someone saying something that they didn’t say, and you should disclose that they’re generated by AI,” Klink noted.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
Berkshire doesn’t disclose which investments are run by which manager.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
That the money was his own, and that he lacked official authority to hire Olmsted, were two points Ellsworth failed to disclose.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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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.