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

The blowout news from SpaceX’s Q3 earnings wasn’t the rocket and AI giant’s outstanding performance that far exceeded even the analysts’ elevated expectations, but Elon Musk’s revelation that SpaceX and Tesla are weighing a merger. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026

The resolution was introduced after revelations about Cornell’s handling of Jane Doe’s allegations that she was raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026

The prisoner in question, Doug Korpi, had also admitted that his agony was an act to journalist Ben Blum, who included the revelation in a broader takedown of the experiment published in 2018. — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

New Mexico district court judge Francis Mathew imposed a $25 billion penalty on Meta today over a state data privacy case that derived from 2018 privacy revelations. — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 21 Oct. 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