Meaning & use
revealing
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Showing something that was previously hidden or not obvious, such as a truth or feeling.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after be: a revealing remark, the answer was revealing.
Patterns
- a revealing look at something
- revealing about someone
Her answer was revealing about how she really felt.
The documentary offers a revealing look at life on a farm.
It was a revealing detail that nobody had noticed.
adjectivecomparable
Leaving much of the body uncovered, as clothing does.
Grammar: Usually about clothing: a revealing dress.
Patterns
- a revealing dress
- revealing clothes
The dress code bans revealing clothes in the office.
She wore a revealing swimsuit at the beach.
His shirt was so thin it was rather revealing.
Word forms
| comparative | more revealing |
|---|---|
| superlative | most revealing |
Common combinations
- revealing look at
- The book gives a revealing look at the president's habits.
- revealing clothing
- Revealing clothing was not allowed at the school.
- deeply revealing
- The interview was deeply revealing.
- revealing comment
- His revealing comment showed his real plans.
- revealing detail
- A revealing detail in the letter changed the case.
Synonyms and how they differ
- telling
- Telling describes a detail that clearly shows the truth, and is a bit more subtle than revealing.
- illuminating
- Illuminating stresses that something helps you understand, while revealing stresses uncovering what was hidden.
- indicative
- Indicative is more formal and means pointing to something.
- low-cut
- Low-cut describes the style of clothes only, not information.
Opposites
Word family
- reveal verb
- to make something known or visible
- revelation noun
- a surprising fact that is made known
- revealingly adverb
- in a way that exposes something
- revealed adjective
- made known
Commonly confused: revealing or revelatory?
revealing vs revelatory
Revelatory means that makes a surprising truth known, with a stronger sense of discovery than revealing.
Practice
The study's results were ____ because they exposed a pattern nobody had noticed before.
Choose one answer.
Revealing means showing something that was hidden. Concealing means the opposite, and the other options do not explain the discovery.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “revealing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.