verb

enttarnen

unmask

enttarnen means to unmask, expose, or uncover someone’s true identity or nature.

It is commonly used when:

A disguised person or secret agent is identified
- Die Spionin wurde enttarnt. — “The female spy was unmasked.”
A person, scheme, lie, or fraud is revealed
- Der Bericht enttarnte den Betrug. — “The report exposed the fraud.”
- Er wurde als Betrüger enttarnt. — “He was exposed as a fraudster.”

The word often suggests that someone was deliberately hiding their identity, intentions, or wrongdoing.

The word consists of:

Literally, enttarnen means “to remove someone’s camouflage or disguise.”

aufdecken — “to uncover” or “to expose”; broader and often used for facts, scandals, or hidden information.
entlarven — “to unmask” or “to expose”; very close in meaning, especially when revealing someone’s dishonest character or intentions.
bloßstellen — “to embarrass” or “to expose publicly”; emphasizes the person’s humiliation more than the discovery itself.
offenlegen — “to disclose” or “to make public”; more formal and usually focused on information rather than a person’s hidden identity.

tarnen — “to camouflage” or “to disguise”; the direct opposite of enttarnen.
verbergen — “to hide” or “to conceal”; a general term that does not necessarily involve a disguise.
geheim halten — “to keep secret”; emphasizes deliberately preventing information from becoming known.
verschleiern — “to obscure” or “to cover up”; often refers to making facts or intentions difficult to understand.

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Sie versuchten, den Spion zu enttarnen.verb

They tried to unmask the spy.

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