unearthing
Bringing to light
Unearthing is digging something up from the ground: archaeologists unearthing ancient pottery.
More often the word is figurative—discovering something hidden or forgotten through investigation: unearthing old family secrets, unearthing evidence of fraud.
The sense of excavation carries over: what's unearthed was buried, concealed, or lost to time.
Removing earth below
- soilGround matter for planting
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
- bulbsUnderground plant storage
- tubersUnderground plant storage organs
potatoes · carrots · beets · turnips · spade · shovel · compost · earthworms
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- fossilsPreserved ancient organism traces
- tombsChambers for the dead
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
relics · pottery · temples · pyramids · sarcophagi · hieroglyphs · mosaics · amphorae
Revealing something hidden
- findingConclusion from investigation
- revealingMaking known what's hidden
- exposingMaking something known
- detectingPerceiving something present
disinterment · exhumation · retrieval · extraction · locating · spotting
Making known what's hidden
- exposingMaking something known
- disclosingMaking information known
- uncoveringRevealing something hidden
- truthAccordance with reality
hidden · buried · concealed · scandal · conspiracy · cover-up · investigation · whistleblower
Surprising disclosed truth
- epiphanySudden profound insight
- realizationGrasping what's true
- breakthroughSudden important advance
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
understanding · clarity · illumination · comprehension · awareness · recognition · discernment · learning
Retaining past information
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- forgottenNo longer recalled
- pastTime already gone
buried · suppressed · childhood · photographs · letters · memorabilia · keepsakes · heirlooms
digging
Removing earth below
tubers · potatoes · carrots · beets · turnips · spade · shovel · compost · earthworms · planting
excavation
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- fossilsPreserved ancient organism traces
- tombsChambers for the dead
ruins · relics · pottery · temples · pyramids · sarcophagi · hieroglyphs · mosaics · amphorae · stratigraphy
uncovering
Revealing something hidden
- findingConclusion from investigation
- revealingMaking known what's hidden
- exposingMaking something known
detecting · disinterment · exhumation · retrieval · extraction · locating · spotting
revealing
Making known what's hidden
- exposingMaking something known
- disclosingMaking information known
- uncoveringRevealing something hidden
truth · hidden · buried · concealed · scandal · conspiracy · cover-up · investigation · whistleblower · documents
revelation
Surprising disclosed truth
- epiphanySudden profound insight
- realizationGrasping what's true
- breakthroughSudden important advance
enlightenment · understanding · clarity · illumination · comprehension · awareness · recognition · discernment · learning · knowledge
remembering
Retaining past information
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- forgottenNo longer recalled
past · buried · suppressed · childhood · photographs · letters · memorabilia · keepsakes · heirlooms · attic
- discoveryfind, finding, discovery, discover, finding out
- excavationdig, excavation, excavating, excavator, digging
- investigatinginvestigate, examine, inspect, probe, search
- searchingsearching, rummaging, digging, looking through, finding
- uncoveringexposing, revealing, disclosure, unveiling, baring
- earthworkdigging, excavation, excavating, trenching, shoveling
unearthingburying
Covering with earth
interring · entombing · covering · reburying · filling in
unearthingconcealing
Keeping something secret
hiding · concealment · covering up · suppressing · obscuring
unearthingsuppressing
Forcibly restraining or inhibiting
destroying evidence · covering up · obfuscating · erasing · whitewashing
earth, earthy, unearth, earthquake, unearthly, earthenware, earthen, earthwork, unearthed