REVEAL


Meaning of REVEAL in English

I. rə̇ˈvēl, rēˈ- transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English revelen, from Middle French reveler, from Latin revelare to reveal, unveil, from re- + velare to veil, from velum veil

1. : to communicate or make known by superhuman means or agency : disclose or make manifest through divine inspiration (as in a vision)

2. : to make (something secret or hidden) publicly known : divulge

reveal a confidence

revealed his plans for the nation

3. : to open up to view : show plainly or clearly : display

the rising curtain revealed a street scene

the painting reveals the painter

the dress revealed nearly everything

Synonyms:

discover , disclose , divulge , tell , betray , bewray : reveal indicates a making known or setting forth sometimes comparable to unveiling; it may apply to supernatural or inspired revelation, to simple disclosure, or to indication by signs, symptoms, or similar evidence

laws divine deduced by reason or to faith revealed — William Wordsworth

the artist, the man of genius, raises this veil and reveals nature to us — Havelock Ellis

he revealed his gift for patient diplomacy — John Buchan

conversation revealed a persistent, if muted, snobbery — Francis King

discover indicates a making known or showing by or as if by uncovering; it is commonly used in connection with matters kept secret and not previously known

a test which we may apply to all figure painters — a test which will often discover the secret of unsatisfactory design — Laurence Binyon

disclose is more common than discover to indicate these notions

the stress of passion often discloses an aspect of the personality completely ignored till then by its closest intimates — Joseph Conrad

did not disclose his objective — Willa Cather

divulge indicates disclosing, often with a degree of publicity or with a suggestion of impropriety or breach of confidence, real or implied

knew of the conspiracy and did not divulge it — Hilaire Belloc

the prefaces written for it … divulged the closest workshop secrets that any novelist has yet confided to nonnovelists — C.E.Montague

tell may simply indicate giving necessary or helpful information

kiss and tell

tell him the news

betray is stronger than divulge in centering attention on breaches of confidence and than reveal when outward signs or indications are involuntary

letters that would betray the conspiracy he had entered into — Sherwood Anderson

the deep fondness of her heart betrayed itself by a faint smile — Anne D. Sedgwick

bewray is an archaic synonym for reveal or betray

silence in love bewrays more woe than words — Walter Raleigh

II. noun

( -s )

: revelation , disclosure

III. noun

( -s )

Etymology: alteration (influenced by reveal ) (II) of earlier revale, from Middle English revalen, v., to lower, bring down, from Middle French revaler, from re- + -valer (from val valley) — more at vale

1. : the side of an opening (as for a window or doorway) between a doorframe or window frame and the outer surface of a wall ; also : the whole thickness of the wall where the opening is not filled (as with a door) : jamb

2. : the border surrounding a window of an automobile

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.