exhume

[ ig-zoom, -zyoom, eks-hyoom ]

verb (used with object)

, ex·humed, ex·hum·ing.

1. to dig (something buried, especially a dead body) out of the earth; disinter.
2. to revive or restore after neglect or a period of forgetting; bring to light:

   to exhume a literary reputation; to exhume old letters.

exhume

/ ɛksˈhjuːm; ˌɛkshjʊˈmeɪʃən /

verb

1. to dig up (something buried, esp a corpse); disinter
2. to reveal; disclose; unearth

   don't exhume that old argument

Derived Forms

• exˈhumer, noun
• exhumation, noun

Other Words From

• ex·hu·ma·tion [eks-hy, oo, -, mey, -sh, uh, n], noun
• ex·humer noun
• unex·humed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of exhume¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin exhumāre, equivalent to Latin ex- ex- ¹ + humāre to inter

Word History and Origins

Origin of exhume¹

C18: from Medieval Latin exhumāre, from Latin ex- ¹+ humāre to bury, from humus the ground

Example Sentences

On the precipice of turning 40, somewhere halfway through this marathon of a life, I want to exhume what I feel I’ve abandoned and lost.

From Los Angeles Times

Support for abortion rights has grown since the Supreme Court issued the Dobbs decision and there is no evidence that this fatuous "states' rights" rationale means anything, especially since we all know that the extremists are planning to exhume archaic laws like The Comstock Act to further restrict reproductive rights on a federal level.

From Salon

If Arizona’s 21st century Supreme Court justices wish to exhume an obscure 19th century predecessor from the recesses of history, that’s their prerogative.

From Los Angeles Times

She informs Pozner that the only way she’ll believe him is if he agrees to exhume Noah’s body.

From Salon

“I watch a lot of true crime, and they exhume bodies all the time. It’s not unusual,” she blithely says.

From Salon

Related Words

• disclose
• resurrect
• unearth