dredge up

verb

1. to bring to notice, esp with considerable effort and from an obscure, remote, or unlikely source

   to dredge up worthless ideas

2. to raise with or as if with a dredge

   they dredged up the corpse from the lake

Example Sentences

That was their goal from the start, they just needed time to dredge up a pretext.

From Los Angeles Times

When their father decides to defend the accused teen, it dredges up past traumas for Charlie and Sam as well as secrets Pikesville residents and the Quinn family have hidden for years.

From Los Angeles Times

Attorneys handling these proceedings say the government is overwhelming the courts and immigration lawyers by dredging up cases, many of which are a decade or more old.

From Los Angeles Times

But, as big moves so often do, the journey dredges up long-buried feelings of discontent and malaise between the couple.

From Salon

Naturally, there is stomach-churning anxiety to be dredged up from this period — one that we’re very much still living in, in many ways — as Aster noted during a talk following the film’s New York premiere.

From Salon

Related Words

• ascertain 
• bring to light 
• determine 
• discover 
• excavate 
• exhibit 
• exhume 
• expose 
• find 
• find out 
• reveal 
• uncover