Choose the Right Synonym for divulge

reveal, disclose, divulge, tell, betray mean to make known what has been or should be concealed. reveal may apply to supernatural or inspired revelation of truths beyond the range of ordinary human vision or reason. divine will as revealed in sacred writings disclose may imply a discovering but more often an imparting of information previously kept secret. candidates must disclose their financial assets divulge implies a disclosure involving some impropriety or breach of confidence. refused to divulge an anonymous source tell implies an imparting of necessary or useful information. told them what he had overheard betray implies a divulging that represents a breach of faith or an involuntary or unconscious disclosure. a blush that betrayed her embarrassment

Did You Know?

It isn't vulgar to make known the roots of divulge - and that sentence contains two hints about the word's origin. "Divulge" was borrowed into Middle English in the 15th century from Latin divulgare, a word that combines the prefix dis-, which meant "apart" or "in different directions" in Latin, with vulgare, meaning "to make known." "Vulgare," in turn, derives from the Latin noun vulgus, meaning "mob" or "common people. As you have no doubt guessed, English "vulgar" is another word which can be traced back to "vulgus"; it came into use about a century before "divulge."

Examples of divulge in a Sentence

The company will not divulge its sales figures. we tried to make him divulge the name of the winner, but he wouldn't budge

Recent Examples on the Web That is partly why police have been reluctant to divulge many details about what happened. — NBC News, "After two mass shootings, Americans ask: Is this what a return to normal looks like?," 23 Mar. 2021 Langley managed to persuade the thief to divulge the location of the lens in exchange for keeping the man’s identity out of the papers. — Marina Koren, The Atlantic, "NASA Is a Tiny Bit Worried About Pirates," 12 Mar. 2021 Luckily, there's a very modest, yet extremely gregarious, master who was willing to divulge a thing or two about making pasta that might help you at home. — Paul Feinstein, Travel + Leisure, "How to Make Pasta Like an Italian, According to Chef Massimo Bottura," 26 Feb. 2021 The prospective jurors’ faces were not broadcast and the judge asked them not to identify themselves on social media, saying the court would not divulge their names during the trial. — Joe Barrett, WSJ, "Jury Selection in Trial of Former Officer Accused of Killing George Floyd Resumes," 9 Mar. 2021 Trump spokesman Jason Miller refused to divulge the purpose of the ex-president’s visit. — al, "Donald Trump going to New York for first time since leaving White House," 7 Mar. 2021 Furthermore, the disclosures in court documents may serve to divulge sensitive information about the machinations of the Saudi elite -- and could further incriminate MBS and his circle of advisers. — Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, "In wake of Khashoggi report, ex-Saudi spymaster's assassination plot accusation may complicate Riyadh relations," 2 Mar. 2021 The keepers of the Monkey Cage blog did not divulge that APSA and MESA are strong anti-Israel advocates and major promoters for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement against Israel. — Lenny Ben-david, National Review, "The Washington Post Uses Bad Social Science to Push Anti-Israel Propaganda," 11 Mar. 2021 Officials did not divulge details on the case or say who may have the child. — Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, "Update: Missing 3-month-old found safe, police say," 3 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'divulge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.