revealing
Britishadjective
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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.
King Charles has made history by revealing his £12.9m tax bill, but the payment is far from ordinary.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026
HBO has asked journalists to refrain from spoiling specific jokes, revealing certain gags, or mentioning guest stars that haven’t been announced or confirmed in photos.
From Salon • Jun. 26, 2026
In 2024, CI published the results of the first-ever systematic camera trap survey of the Central Cardamom region, revealing more than 100 resident species, nearly two dozen of them either vulnerable or endangered.
From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026
Two economic lenses bring those benefits into focus, revealing why Loper Bright is the sounder doctrine in the long run.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
A moment later the lid of the barrel was pried off, revealing a circle of blue sky that was instantly eclipsed by a man, peering in.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
