revealing
Americanadjective
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eye-opening or enlightening; disclosing much.
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(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.
He would then display the bodies in lifelike poses, revealing their muscles, skeletons and internal organs in exhibitions that drew millions worldwide but also occasionally faced calls for bans.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Still, the restaurant scenes do a fine job of revealing character.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Ancient DNA is revealing new details about the people who lived at Shimao, one of the most important late Neolithic settlements in China.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
The phone then began receiving texts from Mawhinney revealing where the other judges missing valuables had ended up.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
After Petra’s revealing book was published, Spassky was very upset, primarily because he didn’t want the woman or her book to come between him and Bobby and ruin their good relationship.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
