1.
coming to light, public knowledge, exposure
The state of something hidden becoming publicly known. Almost always used in the fixed phrase 明るみに出る (to come to light).
不正が明るみに出た。
The fraud came to light.
事件の真相が明るみに出て、大きなニュースになった。
The truth about the incident came to light and became big news.
内部告発によって会社の不祥事が明るみに出ることになった。
The company's scandal came to light through an internal whistleblower report.
USAGE:
Almost exclusively used in the phrase 明るみに出る (to come to light, to be exposed). Rarely used in other constructions. The subject is typically something negative that was concealed — corruption, scandals, secrets, crimes.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 明るみに出る: to come to light
- 明るみに出す: to bring to light (transitive)
- 不正が明るみに出る: fraud comes to light
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 発覚: discovery, detection (of wrongdoing)
- 露呈: exposure, revelation (formal)
- 暴露: disclosure, expose