disclose

English

Etymology

From Middle English disclosen, from Middle French desclos, from Old French desclore, itself from Vulgar Latin disclaudere, from Latin dis- + claudere (“to close, shut”) or as a variant of discludo, discludere (cf. disclude). English equivalent dis- +‎ close.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪsˈkləʊz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊz

Verb

disclose (third-person singular simple present discloses, present participle disclosing, simple past and past participle disclosed)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To open up, unfasten.
   • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

     The estrich layeth her eggs under sand, where the heat of the discloseth them.

2. (transitive) To uncover, physically expose to view.

   Synonyms: reveal, unveil

   • 1695, John Woodward, “(please specify the page)”, in An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth: And Terrestrial Bodies, Especially Minerals: […], London: […] Ric[hard] Wilkin […], →OCLC:

     The shells being broken, […] the stone included in them is thereby disclosed and set at liberty.

   • 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros‎^[1], London: Jonathan Cape, page 18:

     And it seemed to me that the dream smote the roof above my bed, and the roof opened and disclosed the outer dark, and in the dark travelled a bearded star, and the night was quick with fiery signs.

   • 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 166:

     Some [nest toys] open to disclose a set of babies, tumbling dolls with weights, or old men might open so that they could be used as money-boxes.

   • 1972, Vladimir Nabokov, Transparent Things, McGraw-Hill, published 1972, page 13:

     Its brown curtain was only half drawn, disclosing the elegant legs, clad in transparent black, of a female seated inside.

3. (transitive, occasionally intransitive) To expose to the knowledge of others; to make known, state openly, reveal (something).

   Synonyms: reveal, unveil, divulge, publish, impart

   • 1712 May, [Alexander Pope], “The Rape of the Locke. An Heroi-comical Poem.”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, canto II:

     Her lively looks a sprightly mind disclose.

   • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene iii, page 1:

     If I disclose my passion, / Our friendship's at an end.

   • 2013, Anne Cognito, Sunlight in the Darkness : My life as a trans woman, page 100:

     I feel duty bound to disclose I'm trans. I have a certain emotional investment in the relationship, [so] I've decided I have to disclose, and it scares me.

   • 2013, Pranee Liamputtong, Stigma, Discrimination and Living with HIV/AIDS, page 83:

     Disclosing to a child his or her own HIV-positive status is yet another complicated process. Who should disclose and when and how that person should do it are prominent questions […]

Synonyms

• (to expose to the knowledge of others): bring to light, expose, reveal; See also Thesaurus:divulge
• (to make known, state openly): impart, make known, publish; See also Thesaurus:announce

Antonyms

• cover up
• withhold

Derived terms

• disclosable
• discloser
• disclosive
• predisclose
• redisclose
• undisclose
• undisclosing

Related terms

• disclosure

Translations

open up — see open up

physically expose to view

• Bulgarian: показвам (bg) (pokazvam), разкривам (bg) (razkrivam)
• Catalan: revelar (ca)
• Dutch: onthullen (nl), ontsluieren (nl)
• Esperanto: malkaŝi
• Finnish: paljastaa (fi)
• French: découvrir (fr), laisser voir (fr)
• German: enthüllen (de)
• Hungarian: felfed (hu), szem elé tár, kitakar (hu), feltár (hu)
• Italian: scoprire (it)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دەرخستن (derxistin)

• Maori: tūhura
• Occitan: revelar (oc), expausar (oc)
• Portuguese: revelar (pt), expor (pt)
• Romanian: dezvălui (ro), expune (ro)
• Russian: раскрыва́ть (ru) impf (raskryvátʹ), раскры́ть (ru) pf (raskrýtʹ)
• Spanish: revelar (es), develar (es), desvelar (es), descerrar (es)
• Welsh: datguddio (cy)

make known

• Bulgarian: откривам (bg) (otkrivam), издавам (bg) (izdavam)
• Catalan: divulgar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 泄露 (zh) (xièlòu, xièlù)

• Danish: bekendtliggøre
• Dutch: onthullen (nl), ontsluieren (nl), bekendmaken (nl), vrijgeven (nl)
• Finnish: paljastaa (fi)
• French: révéler (fr), divulguer (fr), dévoiler (fr)
• German: veröffentlichen (de), bekanntgeben (de), bekanntmachen
• Hungarian: (to expose to the knowledge of others) tudtára ad, tudomására hoz (hu), tudat (hu), közöl (hu), elárul (hu), elmond (hu), (to make known, state openly) közread (hu), közzétesz (hu), nyilvánosságra hoz, (to uncover) leleplez (hu), felfed (hu)
• Ido: desvelizar (io)
• Indonesian: membeberkan (id), menyingkap (id)
• Italian: divulgare (it), rivelare (it)
• Japanese: 啓 (ja) (けい , kei)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دەرخستن (derxistin)

• Latin: dēclārō, ēnūntiō
• Maori: whakakakau
• Norwegian: bekjentgjøre (no)
• Occitan: divulgar (oc), revelar (oc)
• Polish: ujawnić (pl)
• Portuguese: revelar (pt), divulgar (pt)
• Romanian: revela (ro), divulga (ro)
• Russian: раскрыва́ть (ru) impf (raskryvátʹ), раскры́ть (ru) pf (raskrýtʹ)
• Spanish: divulgar (es), develar (es), desvelar (es), descerrar (es)
• Welsh: datguddio (cy)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} révéler (fr)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} svelare (it), ^{(please verify)} scoperchiare, ^{(please verify)} far noto

Noun

disclose (plural discloses)

1. (obsolete) A disclosure.