dredged up
Hauled from depths
Dredged up combines the literal action of a dredge—a machine that scoops material from the bottom of a body of water—with the figurative sense of bringing something long-buried back to the surface.
Usually the thing dredged up is unpleasant or unwanted: Why dredge up old grievances?
The investigation dredged up some uncomfortable facts about his past.
The phrase suggests deliberate excavation of what was better left buried.
- excavatedDug up systematically
- fished outEmptied by overharvesting
- brought upRaised or mentioned
- dragged upRevived reluctantly from past
- recalledBrought back mentally
dug up · salvaged · dug out · resurfaced · reclaimed · brought to light · triggered · remembered · unearthed · exposed · recovered · stirred up · old wounds · scooped · hauled · extracted · sifted · mined
dredged upburied
Placed beneath earth
concealed · covered up · suppressed · hidden · hushed up
dredged uprepressed
Held back from expression
forgotten · let lie · pushed down · suppressed · let sleeping dogs lie