- present participle of reveal.
revealing
Americanadjective
-
eye-opening or enlightening; disclosing much.
-
(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.
The opener turned out his pockets, revealing only a black bag for his sunglasses.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Maye asked for a moment to think — “let me try not to get too controversial,” he said — before revealing his answer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
"We don't want to export it to countries that could use Philippine ube varieties to compete with us," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said last month while revealing the ban on raw ube exports.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Filmmaker Tyler Perry is bidding farewell to his Beverly Hills mansion, listing the property for $57 million—mere weeks after revealing his plans to move to Puerto Rico.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
But Dasch knew that any little slipup, such as revealing that he had been a member of a labor union, would mean "curtains."
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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.
