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
-
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
-
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
-
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:
Every institution receiving federal funds should be required to disclose the full racial and statistical profile of applicants, admitted students and matriculants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Only he can say for sure, but his companies are under federal investigation for failing to disclose and properly account for billions of dollars of loans among related entities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The lawmakers demanded that the VA disclose details about its shortage of mental health providers and the impact on veterans.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
After speculation about his health during this summer's World Cup, the Messi family issued a statement saying he was dealing with a "health-related situation" but did not disclose the nature of his condition.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Call it $300 billion, of which roughly $240 billion would have been triple-A-rated and thus treated, for accounting purposes, as riskless, and therefore unnecessary to disclose.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
"It was a green tea," the singer discloses.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Gibson’s character C Hemingway on Fox’s “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” is also trans, something he discloses at work as a forensic anthropologist reconstructing the faces of people disappeared.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
The letter includes a postscript from Sorensen, in which he discloses Rousseau’s retirement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
He believes that whatever Cohen may have bought “should stand out like a sore thumb” when the counterparty discloses its equity holdings in mid-May or discloses a 5% position in a company.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026
The record, however, discloses Alvarez’s testimony to be an ill-disguised act of score settling.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
The company has not disclosed its target for Luce sales but, according to a Financial Times report, it has hit this year's goal thanks to strong demand from China.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
In June regulatory filings that disclosed the $21 billion in restatements, each insurer labeled them as “corrections of errors,” which would imply that they were inadvertent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The Metropolitan Police has apologised after it inadvertently disclosed email addresses of around 140 women who say they were sexually abused by the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Berkshire disclosed its April-through-June stockholdings in a regulatory filing late Friday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Ernest Burkhart disclosed that Hale, before filling out the note, had practiced making his handwriting look like Bigheart’s.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
In disclosing the incident, it is following in the footsteps of those before it.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Lloyd's said the pair breached compliance rules by not disclosing their relationship but found no conclusive evidence they had a romantic relationship while at Lloyd's.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Maybe there are a lot of companies like Costco out there that are hiding the ball when it comes to disclosing AI impact.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
TikTok policies allow creators to earn commissions from entirely AI-generated content as long as they activate an on-screen tag disclosing the technology’s use and don’t include false or misleading claims about the products they promote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
He ignored her and unfolded the cloth, disclosing the golden splendor of the alethiometer resting in his palm.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
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.
