Disclose — A Vocabulary Story
Richard and the Secret That Nearly Escaped
Richard was terrible at keeping secrets. Truly terrible. If you told Richard a secret, it usually escaped from his mouth before you'd finished saying, "Don't tell anyone."
So when Mum whispered, "We're throwing Grandad a surprise seventieth birthday party on Saturday, and you must not disclose it to him," Richard felt his tummy flip. Five whole days of keeping his lips zipped? Impossible.
Disclose means to make secret or new information known. It can also mean to allow something hidden to be seen.
On Monday, Grandad came round for tea. "Anything exciting happening this week, Richard?" he asked, dunking his biscuit.
"NOTHING!" Richard shouted, so loudly that the cat next door fell off the fence.
On Wednesday, Grandad rang to chat about football. "You sound funny, Richard. Are you hiding something?"
Richard pressed his lips together and hummed the whole conversation. Grandad thought the phone was broken.
By Friday, the secret was bouncing around inside Richard like a frog in a jam jar. When Grandad asked what Saturday's plans were, Richard nearly disclosed everything. The words "SURPRISE PARTY" climbed right up his throat! But at the last second, he swallowed them down and squeaked, "Cheese. We're... buying cheese."
Grandad raised an eyebrow. "An awful lot of fuss about cheese."
On Saturday, Grandad walked into a room full of balloons, cousins and a banner as long as a bus. "SURPRISE!" everyone cheered.
Grandad hugged Richard tightest of all. "You didn't disclose a single thing! I'm astonished."
"So am I," said Richard. "Now can somebody please talk to me about cheese?"
Word Definition
disclose
meaning
to make secret or new information known; to allow something hidden to be seen
synonyms
reveal · divulge · expose · uncover · announce
antonyms
conceal · hide
example sentence
She refused to disclose her age.