exhume

/eksˈhjuːm/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪɡˈzuːm/ (ame, ipa) · /ig-ˈzüm igz-ˈyüm, iks-ˈ(h)yüm/ (ame, mw)

exhume — verb

  • exhume,present simple I / you / we / they
  • exhumepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • exhumes,he / she / it
  • exhumeshe / she / it
  • exhumed,past simple
  • exhumedpast simple
  • exhuming,-ing form
  • exhuming-ing form

1. to dig a buried corpse out of its grave, usually because doctors or police need

1.動詞及物C2
釋義

to dig a buried corpse out of its grave, usually because doctors or police need to study it again or because the family wants the remains moved to a new resting place.

例句

Detectives asked the court for permission to exhume the victim's body for new tests.

transitive: exhume + [body]

Brandon's family decided to exhume their grandfather and rebury him next to his wife.

exhume + [person], for reburial purpose

同義詞
  • disinter

    very formal, near-identical meaning; common in legal and academic texts

  • unearth

    broader — applies to any buried object, not only bodies; less morbid tone

  • dig up

    informal everyday phrasing for the same action; can also be used of objects

反義詞
  • bury

    the opposite act — placing a body into a grave

  • inter

    formal counterpart to bury, often used in the same legal register as exhume

文法句型

exhume + [body / remains]

用法筆記

Object must be a corpse, remains, coffin, or buried person — never a living person or a non-burial object. Frequently passive (be exhumed) in news and legal reporting, and often paired with a purpose clause naming why the grave was opened.

常見錯誤

❌They exhumed the old letters from the attic.
✅They found the old letters in the attic.
💡exhume only takes buried human remains as its object, not papers or hidden objects.
❌The doctor exhumed Vikram to ask him about the operation.
✅The doctor questioned Vikram about the operation.
💡you cannot exhume someone who is alive; the object must be a dead body.