To divulge means to reveal information that was supposed to be kept secret or private. When you divulge something, you're telling others what you weren't supposed to tell, like if you accidentally divulge the surprise ending of a book your friend hasn't finished yet.

The word often appears when secrets are at stake. A spy who divulges classified information is sharing state secrets with people who shouldn't know them. If you promise not to divulge what a friend told you in confidence, you're agreeing to keep their secret safe. Scientists might refuse to divulge the details of their research until it's published, protecting their discoveries from competitors.

Divulge carries a sense of importance: you wouldn't say someone divulged that it's raining outside, but you might say a witness divulged crucial details about what they saw. The information being shared usually matters to someone, whether it's a password, a business strategy, or a friend's personal news.

When you divulge something, you're crossing a line from keeping quiet to speaking up, from privacy to publicity. Once you divulge a secret, you can't take it back.