Revelate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make known or uncover something that was previously hidden or kept secret
2. To bring into the open a truth or fact that had been concealed from view
3. To disclose or lay bare information so that others can perceive or understand it

Etymology: "Revelate" is a rare English verb meaning to uncover hidden things, and it is a back-formation: English speakers worked it backwards from nouns that were already in use, rather than borrowing it directly. Those nouns, "revelation," "revelator," and "revelatory," all descend from Latin "revelare," meaning to unveil or reveal, built from "re-" (back, again) and "velum" (a veil or covering). The Latin verb's past participle, "revelatus," is the form that stands behind the English word, so the idea of pulling a covering away sits at the heart of it. Because "revelate" was formed from "revelation" and its relatives rather than from a Latin verb used in English, it reads as a made-up-sounding word that is nonetheless grounded in the familiar vocabulary of disclosure. The word therefore carries the same core image as "reveal" itself: lifting away what has been hiding something underneath.

Synonyms: reveal, disclose, unveil, divulge, expose

Antonyms: conceal, hide, obscure, cover, veil