dredges up
Retrieves from depths
To dredge up is to bring something to the surface, originally from the bottom of a body of water using a dredge—a scooping device.
The figurative sense dominates: to retrieve something buried or forgotten, often unpleasantly.
Why dredge up the past?
The documentary dredges up painful memories.
The implication is that what's retrieved might have been better left undisturbed.
- excavatesDigs out from ground
- scoop upLift something quickly upward
- digs intoExamines or attacks vigorously
- revealsMakes visible or known
- conjureSummon by supernatural means
awaken · stirs up · reminisce · evoke · revive · stir · unearth · buried secrets · uncover · recollect · drag · haul · sift · expose · brings back · the past · mine · revisit
dredges upburies
Places beneath the ground
conceals · hides · covers up · suppresses · obscures
dredges uprepresses
Subdues or restrains forcibly
suppresses · buries · forgets · lets sleeping dogs lie · releases