disclosure

American  

[dih-skloh-zher] / dɪˈskloʊ ʒər /

noun

• disclosures
  plural

1. the act or an instance of disclosing; exposure; revelation.

2. that which is disclosed; a revelation.

3. Patent Law. (in a patent application) the descriptive information imparted by the specification claims, drawings, and models submitted.

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disclosure British  

/ dɪsˈkləʊʒə /

noun

1. something that is disclosed

2. the act of disclosing; revelation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondisclosure
  noun
• predisclosure
  noun
• self-disclosure
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• disclosures
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of disclosure

First recorded in 1590–1600; disclose + -ure

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Compare meaning

How does disclosure compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• disclaimer vs. disclosure

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Explanation

If you make a disclosure, you reveal information not previously known — either because it's new information or because it's been kept secret. Disclosure of new evidence at a trial could reveal that the accused is innocent of the crime. The noun disclosure derives from the Old French word desclos, meaning "open, exposed, plain, explicit." If you make a disclosure, you put something out in the open, usually information that was formally secret. After the disclosure of your huge credit card debt, your parents might make you get a job. The disclosure that nicotine is really addictive has motivated many people to quit smoking. The disclosure of one coworker's salary to another could lead to bitter jealousy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

disclosure disclosures

Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

NHS England said depending on the circumstances of an adoption there may be a need to "protect from disclosure any information about a third party".

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

In her financial disclosure in February 2025, she reported liabilities including a boat loan valued at $100,000 to $250,000 and a mortgage valued at between $1 million and $5 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Moving forward, the real policy challenge will revolve around transparency, the enforceability of existing laws and simply figuring out what type of disclosure would be helpful to voters.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026

He wrote that there needed to be “full disclosure of facts necessary to an informed consent.”

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

The different types of AI-inspired losses range from bodily injury and property damage—caused by, say, an error-prone factory robot—to copyright infringement, unauthorized data disclosures, hallucinated errors and regulatory penalties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Read the risk disclosures, projected returns, debt terms, assumptions, fees and conflicts of interest carefully — and pay attention to how long your $350,000 is locked up.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

Among those requirements are rules governing campaign contribution limits, filing deadlines, public disclosures and fundraising windows.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The prosecution opposed the disclosures, saying they would have a "chilling effect" on the lone juror.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

It seemed I could hear all that was to come—whatever the disclosures might be—with comparative tranquillity.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

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Related Words

• acknowledgment
• admission
• confession
• discovery
• exposure
• leak
• publication

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