revelation

[rev-uh-ley-shuh n] /ˌrɛv əˈleɪ ʃən/

noun

the act of revealing or disclosing; disclosure.

something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized.

Theology.

God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures.
an instance of such communication or disclosure.
something thus communicated or disclosed.
something that contains such disclosure, as the Bible.

(initial capital letter). Also called Revelations, The Revelation of St. John the Divine. the last book in the New Testament; the Apocalypse.

Abbreviation: Rev.

Origin

1275-1325; Middle English revelacion (< Old French) < Late Latin revēlātiōn- (stem of revēlātiō), equivalent to Latin revēlāt(us) (past participle of revēlāre to reveal) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

revelational, adjective

nonrevelation, noun

prerevelation, noun

unrevelational, adjective

Synonyms

1. divulgation, admission, divulgence, exposure.

Examples from the web for revelation

It is in the early days of rollicking boyhood that the revelation first burst upon one, all in a day, as it were.
Here is an enchanting revelation in the history of medicine.
On the basis of this revelation awed adepts make critical decisions about whether to buy or sell.
Translating many more of those poems, fifteen years later, was another kind of revelation.
Then, after a decade of teaching, came the revelation of his true power.
It was, in the truest sense of the word, a revelation.
Now take away roadways and the rule of law and add terrain better suited to a post-apocalyptic revelation.
The result is a thick revelation that's best sipped from a snifter or chalice.
For evangelicals, religious truth is divine revelation and nothing else.
Anxiety that such a revelation might never come again, as it were, conferred the precious gift of delay.

British Dictionary definitions for revelation

revelation

/ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən/

noun

the act or process of disclosing something previously secret or obscure, esp something true

a fact disclosed or revealed, esp in a dramatic or surprising way

(Christianity)

God's disclosure of his own nature and his purpose for mankind, esp through the words of human intermediaries
something in which such a divine disclosure is contained, such as the Bible

Derived Forms

revelational, adjective

Word Origin

C14: from Church Latin revēlātiō from Latin revēlāre to reveal

Revelation

/ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən/

noun

(popularly, often pl) Also called the Apocalypse, the Revelation of Saint John the Divine. the last book of the New Testament, containing visionary descriptions of heaven, of conflicts between good and evil, and of the end of the world

Word Origin and History for revelation

c.1300, "disclosure of information to man by a divine or supernatural agency," from Old French revelacion and directly from Latin revelationem (nominative revelatio), noun of action from past participle stem of revelare "unveil, uncover, lay bare" (see reveal). General meaning "disclosure of facts" is attested from late 14c.; meaning "striking disclosure" is from 1862. As the name of the last book of the New Testament (Revelation of St. John), it is first attested late 14c. (see apocalypse); as simply Revelations, it is first recorded 1690s.

revelation in the Bible

an uncovering, a bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly hidden or only obscurely seen. God has been pleased in various ways and at different times (Heb. 1:1) to make a supernatural revelation of himself and his purposes and plans, which, under the guidance of his Spirit, has been committed to writing. (See WORD OF GOD.) The Scriptures are not merely the "record" of revelation; they are the revelation itself in a written form, in order to the accurate presevation and propagation of the truth. Revelation and inspiration differ. Revelation is the supernatural communication of truth to the mind; inspiration (q.v.) secures to the teacher or writer infallibility in communicating that truth to others. It renders its subject the spokesman or prophet of God in such a sense that everything he asserts to be true, whether fact or doctrine or moral principle, is true, infallibly true.