revelation

noun

rev·​e·​la·​tion ˌre-və-ˈlā-shən 

1

a

: an act of revealing or communicating divine truth

b

: something that is revealed by God to humans

2

a

: an act of revealing to view or making known

Revelations by the news outlet caused a scandal.

b

: something that is revealed

especially : an enlightening or astonishing disclosure

shocking revelations

c

: a pleasant often enlightening surprise

her talent was a revelation

3

Revelation : an apocalyptic writing addressed to early Christians of Asia Minor and included as a book in the New Testament

called also Apocalypse

see Bible Table

Synonyms of revelation

• disclosure

Examples of revelation in a Sentence

The book includes many shocking revelations about the mayor's personal life.

The revelation that she was a drug user was not a surprise to me.

Revelations by the newspaper caused a scandal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Some dialogues seem leisurely and inconsequential, while some major revelations are over in seconds. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026

The revelation comes just weeks after another lawmaker and county executive candidate publicly raised allegations of corruption in the Jackson County Legislature — and faced his own demotion in the process. — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026

In the past few weeks, new revelations in the OpenAI Hugging Face security breach have shown that agents are able to take advantage of system weaknesses to move at speeds that humans are unable to properly address. — Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Both Kersten and Wohmann are travelling with their respective spouses, Irmgard and Winfried (Susanne Wuest and Timocin Ziegler), whose strained silences and sudden revelations reveal volumes about life with their more difficult partners. — Alissa Simon, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English revelacioun, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin revelation-, revelatio, from Latin revelare to reveal

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing revelation

• come as a revelation
• self-revelation

Rhymes for revelation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

revelation

1 of 2 noun

rev·​e·​la·​tion ˌrev-ə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: an act of revealing or making known divine truth

2

a

: an act of revealing to view

b

: something that is revealed

especially : a surprising or astonishing disclosure

Revelation

2 of 2 noun

Rev·​e·​la·​tion

ˌrev-ə-ˈlā-shən

: a writing dealing with the end of the world addressed to early Christians of Asia Minor and included as a book in the New Testament see bible