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.
Her revealing, sometimes seething account makes clear that, rather than being solo affairs, the safest rescues are accomplished by teams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
During that brief interval, the researchers needed to record several properties of the material, including X-ray diffraction measurements capable of revealing its atomic arrangement.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
The result is an atmospheric film that gradually draws the viewer to the other side, revealing the terror that seeks to infiltrate the characters' world.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
“The laugh is a vehicle through which we’re doing this. The intimate connection of people revealing something vulnerable from their heart, that creates a connection that is healthy and thoughtful versus just getting laughs.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
One of Tano’s shoes is torn from heel to toe, revealing sections of his bare foot underneath.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
