revelatory
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or having the characteristics of revelation.
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showing or disclosing an emotion, belief, quality, or the like (usually followed byof ).
a poem revelatory of the author's deep, personal sorrow.
Etymology
Origin of revelatory
1880–85; < Latin revēlāt ( us ) ( revelation ) + -ory 1
Explanation
Anything revelatory reveals something you've never seen or realized before. A revelatory article in a tabloid paper might give you the scoop about a celebrity's (previously) private life. A revelatory artwork might show you something in a completely new light, like a giant art installation that incorporates the natural landscape around it, or a piece of music that stirs a deep feeling of nostalgia or sadness when you listen to it. People often describe religious experiences as revelatory, and early uses of revelation were also religious, meaning "disclosure of information from a divine source." The Latin root is revelare, "uncover or lay bare."
Vocabulary lists containing revelatory
This Week In Culture: September 5–11, 2020
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Zeitoun
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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.
It is a revelatory portrait as well as a technical marvel.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
The podcast, I’m afraid, is eye-wateringly boring—void of a single revelatory moment.
From Slate • Dec. 18, 2025
The San Diego Museum of Art presents a revelatory retrospective on the Spanish artist, whose work pulses with the power of the natural world and his own heritage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025
As a preview, Salonen had conducted a revelatory performance of Pierre Boulez’s “Rituel” in the spring, with the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
But it was quite revelatory in the middle of the nineteenth century.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
