REVEAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does reveal mean? 

• REVEAL (verb)
  The verb REVEAL has 3 senses:

1. make visible

2. make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret

3. disclose directly or through prophets

  Familiarity information: REVEAL used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REVEAL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they reveal    ... he / she / it reveals   
Past simple: revealed   
Past participle: revealed   
-ing form: revealing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make visible

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

bring out; reveal; unveil

Context example:

He brings out the best in her

Hypernyms (to "reveal" is one way to...):

show (make visible or noticeable)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reveal"):

disclose; expose; uncover (reveal to view as by removing a cover)

excavate; unearth (recover through digging)

trot out (bring out and show for inspection and admiration)

unfold (open to the view)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; let on; let out; reveal; uncover; unwrap

Context example:

The newspaper uncovered the President's illegal dealings

Hypernyms (to "reveal" is one way to...):

tell (let something be known)

Cause:

break; get around; get out (be released or become known; of news)

Verb group:

break; get around; get out (be released or become known; of news)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reveal"):

blackwash (bring (information) out of concealment)

muckrake (explore and expose misconduct and scandals concerning public figures)

blow (cause to be revealed and jeopardized)

out (reveal (something) about somebody's identity or lifestyle)

come out; come out of the closet; out (to state openly and publicly one's homosexuality)

spring (produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly)

betray; bewray (reveal unintentionally)

confide (reveal in private; tell confidentially)

leak (tell anonymously)

babble; babble out; blab; blab out; let the cat out of the bag; peach; sing; spill the beans; talk; tattle (divulge confidential information or secrets)

reveal (disclose directly or through prophets)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They reveal that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

revealing (the speech act of making something evident)

revelation (an enlightening or astonishing disclosure)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Disclose directly or through prophets

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

God rarely reveal his plans for Mankind

Hypernyms (to "reveal" is one way to...):

break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; let on; let out; reveal; uncover; unwrap (make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret)

Domain category:

theological system; theology (a particular system or school of religious beliefs and teachings)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

Revelation (the last book of the New Testament; contains visionary descriptions of heaven and of conflicts between good and evil and of the end of the world; attributed to Saint John the Apostle)

revelation (communication of knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency)

revelatory (prophetic of devastation or ultimate doom)

 Context examples 

Might not the nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical instincts?

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mutation analysis of the transcripts in the gene region in diffuse gliomas with 19q deletions revealed no tumor-specific mutations.

(Glioma Tumor Suppressor Candidate Region Gene 1 Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

Vif is a viral gene produced by the HIV virus whose molecular function has remained unclear, but many aspects of its behavior have been revealed.

(HIV-1 Infection Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

In genetic testing, a test result that reveals definitively the presence or absence of the germline genetic alteration associated with the hereditary disorder being assessed.

(Informative, NCI Dictionary)

Mr. Mason, astonished and distressed as you may suppose, revealed the real state of matters.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

A new study of TV-watching great tits reveals how they learn through observation.

(Birds learn from each other’s ‘disgust’, enabling insects to evolve bright colours, University of Cambridge)

Immunohistochemical studies reveal NSE, as well as chromogranin immunoreactivity.

(Carcinoid Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

It seemed to me that a careful examination of the room and the lawn might possibly reveal some traces of this mysterious individual.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You will have a reason for this new-found interest in your career, and those reasons will be revealed to you either now or later when Saturn reenters Aquarius for his full tour in 2021.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The urinalysis reveals the presence of white cells.

(Acute bacterial prostatitis, NCI Thesaurus)