noun

• 1A surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.

  ‘revelations about his personal life’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Surprised by the revelation, Shanza slipped in the sand again.’
  • ‘In fact, the American landscape occasionally yields surprising revelations of continuity.’
  • ‘A Pisces person can shock or surprise you with a revelation; it's best not to react but to give yourself time to understand and respond.’
  • ‘Clearly, both the media and the public were surprised by the revelation that Isaac Newton was an apocalyptic thinker.’
  • ‘The Democratic Alliance said the revelations came as no surprise, as police officers were being forced to moonlight in order to make ends meet.’
  • ‘Emin was surprised by the revelations last night.’
  • ‘Peggy is keen to publish the sculptor's memoirs but Alice thinks the past holds no interest until some shocking revelations are disclosed.’
  • ‘Professor Willy Maley of Glasgow University said he was not surprised by the revelations about Welsh's literary tastes.’
  • ‘Among the revelations were the fact that Ibiza's understaffed customs had not made a single arrest for drug smuggling in two years.’
  • ‘Another hour and the virtually constant stream of questions, revelations and personal admissions had all but dried up.’
  • ‘The Deputy Planning Officer's report begins with a surprising revelation.’
  • ‘There were some startling revelations along the way that made me check and recheck in complete amazement.’
  • ‘While it contains a shocking revelation, its impact is diluted by the immensely overlong justification which accompanies it.’
  • ‘Those incidents prompted him to restart the computer security inquiry, and new revelations have emerged at today's hearing.’
  • ‘There are some startling new revelations tonight about Marilyn's life and death.’
  • ‘The latest genetic revelation comes in the journal Science from an Australian working in America.’
  • ‘Not till the recent revelations in The Sunday Times was the real story disclosed.’
  • ‘In early February, the latest revelations emerged.’
  • ‘But the cascade of recent revelations has left human rights groups understandably alarmed.’
  • ‘Each new revelation was the smoking gun that was going to end his presidency.’

  Synonyms

  disclosure, surprising fact, divulgence, declaration, utterance, announcement, report, news, leak, avowal

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1The making known of something that was previously secret or unknown.
     ‘the revelation of an alleged plot to assassinate the king’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Those in charge obviously feel that the greater risk is the unlawful revelation of trade secrets.’
     • ‘She incapacitates him through her revelation of the secret of his birth at a moment when he should have been at his strongest.’
     • ‘Yet the structure of the novel, the elements of revelation of character and plot, have been rearranged in quite a strange way.’
     • ‘The Prime Minister's revelation of a possible Government ban on public smoking has been welcomed by Swindon health watchdogs.’
     • ‘Deterrence's objective is secret, only for domestic consumption, or for later revelation by history.’
     • ‘An attempt at tragedy in the book's last quarter all but tips the book into oblivion with the revelation of a family secret so silly that Sunset Beach would reject it.’
     • ‘Chuckling to myself, I awaited the revelation of my secret weapon with anticipation.’
     • ‘The moment of revelation came in the last two paragraphs.’
     • ‘Neither Howard nor any Minister had nailed their colours to the mast in a way that would have made revelation of torture stories an embarrassment for them.’
     • ‘The latest revelations have been followed by verbal protests within the media and political establishment.’
     • ‘Fuller doesn't rouse his audiences with smooth patter and startling revelations of abuse he's suffered.’
     • ‘Shock revelations follow as the story unravels, the plot thickens and the audience grows more intrigued.’
     • ‘And the unintended revelation of that simple truth is probably enough to recommend the film.’
     • ‘Some Health Ministry officials were concerned that the revelation of the whole truth would cause panic.’
     • ‘He longs for the revelation of the truths enshrined in the Upanishads.’
     • ‘Significantly, the corporate media has all but completely ignored the revelations of wrongdoing by Immigration Canada officials.’
     • ‘The revelation of the secret of incest tears the family and, by analogy, the nation, apart.’
     • ‘They hardly know each other until the revelation of a secret in their past reunites them again.’
     • ‘The revelation of the big secret is a bit of a letdown.’
     • ‘Despite revelations of wrongdoing in high places during recent years, Ireland remains a society obsessed with secrecy.’
     Synonyms

     divulging, divulgence, telling, disclosure, disclosing, letting slip, letting out, letting drop, giving away, giving out, leaking, leak, betrayal, unveiling, making known, making public, bringing to public attention, bringing to public notice, broadcasting, airing, publicizing, publication, publishing, circulation, dissemination, passing on, proclamation, announcing, announcement, reporting, report, declaring, declaration, posting, communication, imparting, unfolding, vouchsafing

     uncovering, turning up, exposure, exposing, bringing to light, unearthing, digging up, unveiling, unmasking, smoking out, detecting, detection

     View synonyms
  2. 1.2Used to emphasize the surprising or remarkable quality of someone or something.
     ‘seeing them play at international level was a revelation’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Barcelona footballer Ronaldinho is an absolute revelation for taking the game to a different level.’
     • ‘‘The singing skills of some our guests were an absolute revelation,’ says Asokan.’
     • ‘For those lucky enough to have caught onto his comedy before his untimely death, Hicks was an absolute revelation.’
     • ‘As Maria, newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno is an absolute revelation.’
     • ‘With regular striker Denman out for the season Addingham have had to rely on the youthful David Tod and he has been an absolute revelation.’
     • ‘This is an absolute revelation after years of waiting: a truly great Pinot Noir from New Zealand.’
     • ‘Diving the Tynemouth region of Newcastle upon Tyne is unreservedly superb and an absolute revelation to any visitor.’
     • ‘Walter Beech's remarkable V-tail airplane was a revelation when it first appeared in 1947.’
     • ‘Indeed, party members' addiction to power in a remarkably short time has been a revelation.’
     • ‘That said, some of the play of other Irish backs at assorted levels in the past two seasons has been a revelation.’
     • ‘The white light, high intensity discharge headlamps are simply a revelation.’
     • ‘A little tighter editing and this would have been a startling cinematic revelation.’
     • ‘The Van Gogh Museum is a revelation, even for people who hadn't previously considered themselves huge lovers of his work.’
     • ‘His batting technique, however, was a revelation to those previously restricted to dissecting his one-day innings.’
     • ‘It was nice to be, in fact it was a revelation and a relief to be, in a theocracy where church and state was interconnected in such a fruitful way.’
     • ‘The far side of the island is another revelation.’

• 2The divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world.

  ‘an attempt to reconcile Darwinian theories with biblical revelation’

  More example sentences

  • ‘a divine revelation’
  • ‘We simply must rely on God to give us divine revelation by his Holy Spirit.’
  • ‘Also included under this heading are all false religions or cults which claim supernatural revelation but contradict the Bible.’
  • ‘Pope John Paul II has said that divine revelation reveals not only God to man but man to himself.’
  • ‘Clearly Jewish practice was based on obedience to divine revelation.’
  • ‘Ask the Spirit to give you divine insight and revelation that touches your heart as much as it teaches your mind.’
  • ‘Is it possible to reconcile a belief in divine revelation with Enlightenment rationality?’
  • ‘By contrast, in Scripture, God used his undeniable miracles to authenticate his divine revelation.’
  • ‘Iconic creativity issues out of the entire church's dogmatic heritage, which is founded on divine revelation.’
  • ‘The Temple itself (and before that the Tabernacle) was a medium of Divine revelation.’
  • ‘Thus, the task of making life Holy is paramount to giving reality to the Kabbalah and to divine revelation in faith moments.’
  • ‘Sunlight, for instance, often stands in for divine grace or revelation.’
  • ‘The science-and-theology discourse on eschatology did not work toward divine revelation.’
  • ‘Over a span of 23 years, he received the divine revelation of the Quran, sometimes one verse or several verses at a time.’
  • ‘All other claims about revelation in human history are based on the experience of one individual or at best a small group of initiates.’
  • ‘The whole of divine revelation comes to full fruition in him.’
  • ‘The Bible is infallible propositional revelation from God, i.e. facts about things.’
  • ‘There is no divine revelation concerning the true nature of the New York Times.’
  • ‘Of course, when the likes of Miller reject God's propositional revelation in Scripture, they are misleading themselves.’
  • ‘In fact a revelation came asking people to give the Prophet privacy in his own home.’
  • ‘On a walk one day in 1905, Einstein had a sudden revelation: time is not absolute.’

  1. 2.1The last book of the New Testament, recounting a divine revelation of the future to St. John.