dredge up

phrasal verb

dredged up; dredging up; dredges up

: to start talking or thinking again about (something unpleasant that happened a long time ago)

Reporters dredged up the fact that the senator avoided the military draft.

She didn't like to dredge up bad memories.

Examples of dredge up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

The debate has dredged up the contentious history of how Dutch police and security services colluded with German invaders by handing over lists of radical and left-leaning political opponents. —

The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2024 But the trial could dredge up even more of the painful and embarrassing details of one of the darkest periods of Hunter Biden's life. —

Ryan Lucas, NPR, 5 Sep. 2024 That act dredges up old vendettas, buried secrets and cold ambitions. —

Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2024 As the story proceeds, the narrator dredges up more secrets, more cries for help that double as acts of self-assertion. —

Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dredge up