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Gene93 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
disclose and divulge
Hello,
How would you differentiate between: "He promised not to disclose/divulge the whereabouts of the hiding place" and "They refused to divulge/disclose any further information"?
I referred to a few dictionaries, but their definitions were quite similar. What do you think?
How would you differentiate between: "He promised not to disclose/divulge the whereabouts of the hiding place" and "They refused to divulge/disclose any further information"?
I referred to a few dictionaries, but their definitions were quite similar. What do you think?
Top answer
It's a matter of degree of importance. Disclose has the sense of revealing something previously ‘closed’ or secret. Whereas “divulge” is of much more sensitive concern, such as something that might ruin a person or a country—such as the whereabouts of a secret weapon.
- It's a matter of degree of importance.
- Disclose has the sense of revealing something previously ‘closed’ or secret.
- Whereas “divulge” is of much more sensitive concern, such as something that might ruin a person or a country—such as the whereabouts of a secret weapon.
- To disclose the winner’s name by opening the ‘secret envelope’ is a lot less frightening than Divulging the presence of an unexploded bomb in your government's building.
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3 Answers
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It's a matter of degree of importance.
Disclose has the sense of revealing something previously ‘closed’ or secret. Whereas “divulge” is of much more sensitive concern, such as something that might ruin a person or a country—such as the whereabouts of a secret weapon.
To disclose the winner’s name by opening the ‘secret envelope’ is a lot less frightening than Divulging the presence of a
Disclose has the sense of revealing something previously ‘closed’ or secret. Whereas “divulge” is of much more sensitive concern, such as something that might ruin a person or a country—such as the whereabouts of a secret weapon.
To disclose the winner’s name by opening the ‘secret envelope’ is a lot less frightening than Divulging the presence of a
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I agree. I was just asking my husband what he felt the difference was. We felt that "divulge" is used for something you are supposed to keep secret, while "disclose" is simply making something known that was not previously publicly known.
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