English Reference

Word

divulge

Phoneticsdi·vulge

US/daɪˈvəɫdʒ/

UK/daɪvˈʌldʒ/

Definition

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.

Examples

“The witness refused to divulge the name of the person.”

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

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

Examples

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.”

Real-World Examples

“Police said some of the victims were on their watch in connection with illegal activities, which they could not "divulge at the moment to protect investigations which have been launched".”
BBC News · 23 Sept 2026
“She gave that information to Rajput, who innocently divulged that to others.”
BBC News · 21 Sept 2026

Etymology

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

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/divulge

English Reference