English Reference
Verb

divulge

v.
C1 Advanced US /daɪˈvəɫdʒ/ UK /daɪvˈʌldʒ/ di·vulge UK spelling divulged, divulges

v.to tell someone a secret or a piece of private information. You usually do this when you are allowed to or when it is necessary.

v.to make known or reveal information that was previously secret or private. Transitive — requires a direct object.


SIMPLE

The witness refused to divulge the name of the person.

CONTEXTUAL

The company will not divulge the exact figures of the new contract until the official press release is published.

COMPLEX

Despite the intense pressure from the investigators, the suspect remained silent and refused to divulge any information regarding the location of the missing evidence.


Inherited from Middle English divulgen, from Latin dīvulgō + -en (verb-forming suffix), from dī- (“widely”) + vulgō (“to make known, announce; to publish”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin dīvulgō
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated