revelation

[rev-uh-ley-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of revealing or disclosing; disclosure.

   The revelation of previously hidden facts about the group’s activities changed the situation completely.

   Synonyms: exposure, divulgence, admission

2. something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, such as of something not before realized.

   Her memoir contained several fascinating revelations about her love life.

3. Theology.

   1. God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures.

   2. an instance of such communication or disclosure.

   3. something thus communicated or disclosed.

   4. something that contains such disclosure, as the Bible.

4. Also called The Revelation of St. John the Divine. Revelation. the last book in the New Testament; the Apocalypse. Rev.

revelation

¹

/ ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of disclosing something previously secret or obscure, esp something true

2. a fact disclosed or revealed, esp in a dramatic or surprising way

3. Christianity

   1. God's disclosure of his own nature and his purpose for mankind, esp through the words of human intermediaries

   2. something in which such a divine disclosure is contained, such as the Bible

Revelation

²

/ ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. Also called: the Apocalypse.  the Revelation of Saint John the Divine. (popularly, often plural) the last book of the New Testament, containing visionary descriptions of heaven, of conflicts between good and evil, and of the end of the world

Other Word Forms

• revelational adjective
• nonrevelation noun
• prerevelation noun
• unrevelational adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of revelation¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English revelacion, revelacioun, from Anglo-French revelaciun, revelacioun, revelatiun, from Middle French revelacion, revelation, from Late Latin revēlātiōn- (stem of revēlātiō ), equivalent to Latin revēlā(tus) , past participle of revēlāre “to remove the cover from, unveil, lift the lid of, uncover” + -tiōn- verbal noun suffix dentoting the action of the verb; reveal, -tion; apocalypse ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of revelation¹

C14: from Church Latin revēlātiō from Latin revēlāre to _reveal

Example Sentences

The revelations would lead him on a decade-long trail, revealing a family devastated by the Holocaust, a vanished fortune worth billions of pounds and a legacy of artwork and property stolen under Nazi rule.

Read more on BBC

In 2020 it removed Prince Andrew's name from its website, after prominent supporters distanced themselves amid revelations about his friendship with Epstein.

Read more on BBC

“Investors are now looking ahead to the weekend, worried if there may be further bad loan revelations,” David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said of the credit-market concerns.

Read more on Barron's

Following the revelation Farage said he knew Gill as a "God-fearing Christian, somebody that you would think was the least corruptible person".

Read more on BBC

But his determined attitude and gratefulness for his revelation on that memorable return home is being injected by Sonnier and Margolis — who bill themselves as “the two Brandons” — into “Boston Blue.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• announcement 
• discovery 
• epiphany 
• leak 
• news