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

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

capitalized : 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

• disclosure
• divulgence
• exposure

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

Perhaps most alarming to independent producers is the revelation that Channel 4 intends to house both its commissioning team and the new in-house production unit in the same physical space. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 May 2025

The sources said the OEM team sent out the evacuation order to west Altadena soon after it was ordered to do so — a revelation that appears to rest the blame on county fire or sheriff officials. —Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025

Complicating all this is a revelation from Neil Druckmann that alongside Intergalactic, Naughty Dog is also working on a second, secret game that Druckmann is producing. —Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025

Harley has been a revelation and a key factor to Dallas surviving Heiskanen’s injury, but the rest of the group didn’t hold up well. —The Athletic Nhl Staff, New York Times, 20 May 2025

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