to out
- verb
- /aʊt/
- Informal
- The authorial narrator suddenly outs himself as a character in the fictional world who actually claims to have met Becky Sharp at the court of Pumpernickel (ch. 62).
Examples
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In short, he outs himself as a male chauvinist earth-pig—an anti-feminist.
Blog text (9) -
We have a government that outs the fool Nakoula and puts him at risk for his life.
Blog text (12) -
Worthy of the reporter who outs her bully on live TV and sent her a nasty email about her weight.
Blog text (4) -
It centered on Flaco, a soccer player who decides to reveal his homosexuality before the media outs him.
Academic text (2013) -
Ah, our resident troll and puppet master outs himself again by trying to divert attention by accusing people of fallacies.
Blog text (3) -
No wonder that every liberal Wikileaks opponent or advocate for the importance of discretion and secrecy eventually outs themselves as a believer that the US is a force for good in the world.
Blog text (26) -
Suddenly, this joy, which otherwise would just have been that—joy—is something that has to justify its presence, something that, if you can't explain it in a convincing way, outs you as a philistine.
Blog text (23) -
The article reveals how the celebrity outs their struggles with mental health.
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In her latest book, the author outs the secrets of her unique upbringing.
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During the live interview, the host outs the surprise guest's identity to the audience.
Synonyms
Show something that was hidden or secret
Reveal hidden facts or bad actions to people
Reveal secret facts to the public
To reveal secret information, often by mistake
Tell a secret on purpose or by accident
To make something known for the first time
To tell the police or another authority about someone's bad action, betraying their trust
To tell secret or private information to people
To tell a secret or show feelings you were trying to hide
Tell secret or private information to other people
Show what someone or something really is
Tell a secret by accident before others know
Make secret information known to the public
Reveal secret information that shocks people
Make something visible by removing a cover
Accidentally tell someone something you want to keep secret
To tell a secret that should be kept
To reveal information that was previously hidden
To tell people about something secret
To show something hidden so people can see it
To tell a secret by accident and spoil a surprise
To tell a secret carelessly or without meaning to
Show who you really are instead of pretending
To tell other people someone's private information, often their sexual orientation, without their permission
Antonyms
Idioms
Someone quotes words without the surrounding information, making the meaning seem wrong
- Informal
Too good for someone to match, often in social or romantic situations
- Informal
Not having any left of something or having just finished something like school
To take a risk by saying or doing something that may get you in trouble
- Informal
An idea or hope that is suddenly ignored and can no longer happen
Phrasal Verbs
To leave your home to spend time with others, for example at a party or restaurant
Compounds
- NSFW
Withdrawing the penis from a partner's vagina before he releases sperm to try to avoid pregnancy
A celebration when someone tells friends and family about their sexual orientation or gender identity
A sale where a shop sells everything at low prices because it is closing
- Jargon
A baseball out that happens when a fielder holding the ball touches the base a runner must reach
How Revealed
Surface Forms
Etymology
Out as a verb comes from the idea of putting something 'out' into the open, so to out someone is to reveal them or make a secret 'in the open'.