Make Your Point > Archived Issues > REVELATION

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pronounce REVELATION: Say it "REV uh LAY shun." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Suddenly it all makes sense! What a revelation. What a discovery, a realization, an eye-opener, an epi___y. Can you recall that last synonym? It means "a sudden, surprising, often wonderful or amazing realization about something important." And in its older sense, it means "a sudden appearance of a god." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)  definition: Like the word "reveal," "revelation" has Latin bits that mean "unveil." Going all the way back to the Wycliffite Bible (1382), "revelation" has meant "the act of some supernatural being showing some truth or other information to humans." More loosely, a revelation is also any act of learning or discovering something shocking and/or important. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind: "I was struck by a revelation;" "He described his revelations." Other common forms:  The plural noun is "revelations." There's also a noun for people who show revelations. They're "revelators." For an adjective, I prefer "revelatory." (Say it "REV uh luh tore ee.") But if you like, there's also "revelative." how to use it: Pick the formal, very common word "revelation" (instead of synonyms like "discovery," "uncovering," "divulgement") when you want to emphasize how the new information is somehow holy, divine, glorious, enlightening, jaw-dropping, or earth-shattering. Even if you're just being sarcastic: "Aioli sauce is just mayo? What a revelation." Talk about someone's revelation, often a revelation about something or a revelation that something is true. Or, talk about someone having a revelation. We often pluralize it and talk about someone's revelations: "She's a teenager, still grappling with various revelations about real life." examples: "To those hoping for some grand revelation of extraterrestrial life, the hearing was a disappointment."    — Eric Schank, Salon, 18 May 2022 "The books Jen had loaned him were full of revelations... Terrible droughts struck the parts of the world that always grew the most food. For three years, they grew almost nothing. People everywhere starved. In Luke's country, the Government began rationing food..."    — Margaret Peterson Haddix, Among the Hidden, 1998 has this page helped you understand "revelation"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "revelation" without saying "discovery" or "uncovering." try it out: In a story, very often, the main character has some kind of revelation near the end. They suddenly understand what's true or what's important.  Take the show Community. Near the end of the episode "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas," having searched for the true meaning of Christmas, Abed arrives at his revelation: "The meaning of Christmas is the idea that Christmas has meaning. And it can mean whatever we want!" With Abed's revelation in mind, talk about another character who experiences a revelation near the end of an episode, a movie, or a book. If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game this month: It Sounds Wiser in Latin.  Try matching a handful of Latin phrases to their English translations. If you need some clues, I'll provide them in the form of definitions of related words. Enjoy! Try these today: 1. ardentia verba  2. cacoëthes carpendi   3. caput mundi  4. ex animo  5. mentis penetralia A. an itch for fault-finding B. from the soul: heartily C. glowing words D. the head of the world E. the inmost recesses of the mind; the secrets of the heart To peek at the clues, follow the links:    1. To carp is to...    2. Someone magnanimous is...    3. Something mundane is... review this word: 1. A near-opposite of REVELATORY is A. FULLY-GROWN. B. WELL-RESEARCHED. C. LONG-ESTABLISHED. 2. Like you'd expect, the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer titled "Revelations" is filled with _____. A. secrets to be spilled B. promises to be broken C. vengeance to be exacted Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. A Answers to the game questions: 1. ardentia verba = glowing words 2. cacoëthes carpendi  = an itch for fault-finding 3. caput mundi = the head of the world 4. ex animo = from the soul: heartily 5. mentis penetralia = the inmost recesses of the mind; the secrets of the heart a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.