revealing
Britishadjective
-
of significance or import
a very revealing experience
-
showing or designed to show more of the body than is usual or conventional
a revealing costume
Other Word Forms
- revealingly adverb
- revealingness noun
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.
The book’s characters relate their stories in discrete sections that peel back time, revealing shocking secrets and meriting re-evaluation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
I think Alex’s critiques are more revealing about Alex than about Dean.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Follow-up RNA sequencing allowed the researchers to examine overall mRNA activity, revealing that when DHX29 is missing, mRNAs containing non-optimal codons increase in abundance.
From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026
This quick jump is particularly revealing — and worrisome.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
His human hands blew away into dust, revealing his dragon claws.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
