revelation

noun

rev·​e·​la·​tion ˌre-və-ˈlā-shən How to pronounce revelation (audio)
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

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 Dodgers Hernández: Shohei Ohtani needs to grow up in the wake of Ippei Mizuhara revelations March 21, 2024 Max Muncy, their troublesome third baseman, committed two errors and misplayed another ground ball in that same game. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024 Subway has had a tumultuous year, from being determined a possible sandwich monopoly by the FTC to the revelation that its new meat slicers might have been a big mistake. Angela L. Pagán / The Takeout, Quartz, 24 Mar. 2024 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak succinctly summed up what many are now thinking moment’s after Kate’s revelation. Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 23 Mar. 2024 Easily the show’s most compelling character (Tseng is a revelation), Ye Wenjie haunts the series. Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 Following the revelations about allegations of abuse, some fans took to Josh Peck’s social media to criticize him for staying silent. Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024 Which may be why my biggest revelation came in my meetings with Philippa Harvey. Hannah Selinger, Travel + Leisure, 20 Mar. 2024 Discovering Phin’s YouTube channel during college was a revelation for me, as her eloquence in dissecting fashion concepts deepened my understanding of the industry. Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 20 Mar. 2024 The revelations about the warning signs of a potential problem have raised questions about whether routine inspections should have been able to weave together various indications of an issue and avert the incident. James Glanz, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'revelation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of revelation was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near revelation

Cite this Entry

“Revelation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revelation. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

revelation

1 of 2 noun
rev·​e·​la·​tion ˌrev-ə-ˈlā-shən How to pronounce revelation (audio)
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

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