re ‧ veal W1 AC /rɪˈviːl/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ revealing , ↑ revelatory ; verb : ↑ reveal ; noun : ↑ revelation ; adverb : ↑ revealingly ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: reveler , from Latin revelare 'to uncover' , from velum ; ⇨ ↑ veil 1 ]
1 . to make known something that was previously secret or unknown OPP conceal :
He may be prosecuted for revealing secrets about the security agency.
a test that can reveal a teacher’s hidden skills
reveal (that)
He revealed that he had been in prison twice before.
reveal yourself (as/to be something)
The violinist revealed himself as a talented interpreter of classical music.
2 . to show something that was previously hidden OPP conceal :
The curtain opened to reveal the grand prize.
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THESAURUS
▪ reveal to let someone know about something that is secret or has not been known until now:
Doctors are not allowed to reveal confidential information.
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It was revealed that he had smoked marijuana at college.
▪ tell to talk about something to someone, so that they know about it:
Don’t tell anyone about this just yet.
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Shall I tell you a secret?
▪ disclose formal to publicly reveal something such as a fact or a name that has been kept secret:
The terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.
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The agent did not disclose that there had been a violent crime in the house.
▪ divulge //daɪˈvʌldʒ, də-// formal to reveal important or personal information which was previously secret or unknown:
The bank has refused to divulge its plans.
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I’m afraid I cannot divulge what was said to me.
▪ make something public to tell people about important information, especially after it has been kept secret:
Apparently they were engaged for some time before making it public.
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The government has agreed that sources of financing should in future be made public.
▪ leak to deliberately give secret information to a newspaper, television company etc, when a government or other organization wants to keep it secret:
The contents of the email were leaked to the press.
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A man was charged today with leaking official secrets.
▪ give something away ( also spill the beans informal ) to tell someone something that you want to keep secret:
He was careful not to give away any trade secrets.
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I’m not going to give away how much I paid for it!
▪ let slip informal to accidentally tell someone about something:
He let slip that he was envious of his older brother.