revelation

Etymology

From Middle English revelacioun, from Old French revelacion, from Latin revēlātiō (“disclosure”), from revēlō (“to disclose”), re (“again”) + vēlō (“to cover”).

noun

  1. The act of revealing or disclosing.
    Magicians talk about the revelation at the end of a trick. 2007, Paul Zenon, Cool Card Tricks: Techniques for the Advanced Magician, page 58
  2. Something that is revealed.
    But it was much more than a mere ship. Its systems, processes, and technology were so advanced that they dwarfed every accomplishment of the Citadel species. Its grandeur and complexity rivaled the greatest creations of the Protheans—the mass relays and the Citadel. It may have even surpassed them. And if Saren could learn and understand how it worked, he could seize all that power for himself. He’d spent his entire life preparing for a moment like this. Everything he’d ever done—his military service, his career with the Spectres—was only a prelude to this revelation. Now he had found his true purpose; destiny had led him here. 2007, Drew Karpyshyn, Mass Effect: Revelation, Del Rey Books, →OCLC, pages 320–321
    The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives.[…]who, if anyone, is policing their use[?] Such concerns were sharpened further by the continuing revelations about how the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been using algorithms to help it interpret the colossal amounts of data it has collected from its covert dragnet of international telecommunications. 2013-07-26, Leo Hickman, “How algorithms rule the world”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 26
  3. Something dramatically disclosed.
  4. (theology) A manifestation of divine truth.
    This does not mean that God has difficulty overcoming obstacles; if one questions whether revelation is ‘a simple matter’, this need not refer to whether or not God has to exert himself greatly to overcome these obstacles, or whether he is grieved or suffers in some way to overcome these obstacles. 2008, Rolfe King, Obstacles to Divine Revelation: God and the Reorientation of Human Reason, Bloomsbury Academic
  5. Something that turns out to be a great success.
    The 26-year-old has proved a revelation since his £10m move from Freiburg, with his 11 goals in 10 matches hauling Newcastle above Spurs, who went down to Adel Taarabt's goal in Saturday's late kick-off at Loftus Road. April 21, 2012, Jonathan Jurejko, “Newcastle 3-0 Stoke”, in BBC Sport

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