reveal
Americanverb (used with object)
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reveals,
present (3rd person singular)
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revealed,
past participle, past
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revealing
present participle
noun
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reveals
plural
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an act or instance of revealing; disclosure.
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an act or instance of showing or revealing something surprising for the first time.
Stay tuned for the renovation's big reveal!
The big reveal of the season was that the main character was the murderer.
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Architecture.
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the part of the jamb of a window or door opening between the outer wall surface and the window or door frame.
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the whole jamb of an opening between the outer and inner surfaces of a wall.
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the framework or edge of an automobile window.
verb
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(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to disclose (a secret); divulge
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to expose to view or show (something concealed)
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(of God) to disclose (divine truths) either directly or through the medium of prophets, etc
noun
Synonym Usage
Reveal, disclose, divulge share the meaning of making known something previously concealed or secret. To reveal is to uncover as if by drawing away a veil: The fog lifted and revealed the harbor. To disclose is to lay open and thereby invite inspection: to disclose the plans of an organization. To divulge is to communicate, sometimes to a large number of people, what was at first intended to be private, confidential, or secret: to divulge the terms of a contract.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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revealabilitynoun
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revealablenessnoun
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revealernoun
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revealingnessnoun
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revealmentnoun
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prerevealverb (used with object)
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half-revealedadjective
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nonrevealingadjective
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revealableadjective
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revelativeadjective
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self-revealedadjective
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unrevealableadjective
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unrevealedadjective
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unrevealingadjective
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revealedlyadverb
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revealinglyadverb
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unrevealinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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revealsimple
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revealssimple
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have revealedperfect
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has revealedperfect
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am revealingprogressive
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are revealingprogressive
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is revealingprogressive
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have been revealingperfect progressive
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has been revealingperfect progressive
Past
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revealedsimple
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had revealedperfect
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was revealingprogressive
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were revealingprogressive
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had been revealingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reveal
First recorded in 1325–75; (verb) Middle English revelen, from Middle French reveler, from Latin revēlāre “to unveil” ( re-, veil ); reveal ( for defs. 4, 5 ) derivative of obsolete revale “to lower,” from Old French revaler ( re- re- + (a)valer “to lower,” verbal derivative of the phrase à val “down”; see vale)
Explanation
When you make something visible or make it public information, you reveal it. For example, if you want to plan a picnic, wait until forecasters reveal the weather that is predicted. The verb reveal comes from the Latin word revelare meaning "unveil," like when you take off your hat to reveal your new haircut, or when you reveal information about your past that will shock or amuse your friends. You might also be familiar with the noun form of reveal, makeover show-speak for the moment viewers see the newly renovated room or someone's dramatic new look, as in saving the reveal for the end of the show so people keep watching.
Vocabulary lists containing reveal
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 5
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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.
See Examples For:
Exposing cells directly to a chemical can reveal a potential hazard, but it does not, by itself, show whether eating a food exposes human tissues to enough of that chemical to cause the same damage.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
This review does not reveal the game's biggest moments, but beware minor spoilers for some of the characters that appear and a few early sequences.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
He could not reveal what happened when they met, but he told BBC Wales he was "quite heavily involved in the contact".
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
But that didn’t change her internal chemistry as a queer pioneer driven to reveal the new and put that energy onscreen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Ancient records reveal that in wartime the number of soldiers was doubled, swelling the number of men aboard to some seven hundred.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
That’s not to mention the gorgeous puppetry work done by another set of performers as the play reveals a series of detailed circus animals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
But as “Practical Magic 2” quickly reveals, nostalgia is a curse far worse than anything the Owens sisters are working with.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Instead, it reveals a man who repeatedly pushed back when he believed he was being treated unfairly, even as he endured lasting physical pain, financial hardship, and emotional strain.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
In a voice-over, Liam reveals, enjoying himself wasn't the goal.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
As Belby so dramatically reveals, the Patronus is the only spell known to repel the Lethifold.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
Earlier this month, Bailey also revealed he was withdrawing from the show.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Just two years after the 62-year-old actor snapped up the modern 4,000-square-foot home, shocking images have revealed extensive damage outside the residence, with the collapse cracking open the sidewalk and leaving behind a gaping hole.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
The largest global survey of physicists ever conducted has revealed just how unsettled some of the biggest questions in modern physics remain.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
No line of code told 1,200 agents to fear a grader who didn’t exist, and no line of code would have revealed that fear before they acted on it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
As late as the mid-1970s, however, there had been few discoveries that revealed the history of seafaring in Asia.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
But that did not stop MI6 from dispatching Kuzichkin to Islamabad, in Pakistan, to meet the Iranian regime’s emissaries, revealing everything.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The article had pictures of Durham Prison, revealing that "the men who were found guilty of stealing a fortune in mailbags spend their week stitching them for nine shillings".
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
At the same time, these activities also allow us to explore this area archaeologically for the very first time, revealing the historical and cultural development of the Lower Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna necropolis.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Shares of the AI-powered corporate travel booking platform sank after revealing higher operating costs and widening losses, but Wall Street says that isn’t the full story.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
All traces of humor and mischief have evaporated from her eyes, revealing the same intense look that Ma must have inherited.
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.
