Meaning & use
revealing clothing
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Meanings
noununcountable
Clothing that shows a lot of the body, such as the shoulders, back, stomach, or legs.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun phrase; it does not take a plural form.
Patterns
- wear revealing clothing
- in revealing clothing
- too revealing clothing
The invitation said to dress formally, so revealing clothing was not appropriate.
She felt uncomfortable in revealing clothing at the family dinner.
Some schools have rules about revealing clothing during hot weather.
noununcountable
A style of dress that intentionally draws attention to the body, often for fashion or performance.
Grammar: Still uncountable; the phrase describes a category of clothing, not individual items.
Patterns
- choose revealing clothing
- design revealing clothing
- criticize revealing clothing
The designer is known for creating revealing clothing for pop stars.
Magazines often show revealing clothing on their covers.
He said the revealing clothing in the show was part of the character's confidence.
Common combinations
- wear revealing clothing
- She likes to wear revealing clothing in the summer.
- too revealing
- The dress was considered too revealing for the office.
- highly revealing
- The costume was highly revealing and caused some discussion.
- revealing outfit
- He wore a revealing outfit to the party.
Synonyms and how they differ
- skimpy
- Skimpy means clothing is very small and shows a lot of skin; it often suggests the clothes are too small, while revealing clothing is a neutral description.
- scanty
- Scanty is more formal and literary; it emphasizes a lack of material rather than the effect of showing the body.
- immodest
- Immodest is a moral or religious judgment; revealing clothing is simply a factual description.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: revealing clothing or revealing?
revealing clothing vs revealing
Revealing alone can mean 'making something known' (a revealing report) or 'showing the body' (a revealing dress). The phrase revealing clothing always has the clothing meaning.
Practice
The school asked students to avoid ______ during the ceremony.
Choose one answer.
The phrase 'revealing clothing' is a fixed uncountable noun phrase. 'Reveal clothing' is a verb + object and would need a subject; 'revealed' is past tense and does not fit the noun slot.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “revealing clothing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.