disinter

verb

dis·​in·​ter ˌdis-in-ˈtər 

disinterred; disinterring; disinters

transitive verb

1

: to take out of the grave or tomb

2

: to bring back into awareness or prominence

also : to bring to light : unearth

disinterment

ˌdis-in-ˈtər-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• unearth

Examples of disinter in a Sentence

The body was disinterred for further study.

the Egyptian mummy was carefully disinterred

Recent Examples on the Web

At first, the remains of U.S. Army and U.S. Army Air Forces personnel were interred in the Schofield Barracks Cemetery until the American Graves Registration Service disinterred the remains in August 1947. —Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 6 Aug. 2025

But 2019, with new forensic techniques, officials had more hope of success, and the remains were disinterred a second time and sent to a laboratory for additional analysis. —Frank Witsil, Freep.com, 15 July 2025

In January, both women were disinterred for a contemporary forensic analysis after investigators collected DNA samples. —Craig Shoup, The Tennessean, 7 July 2025

In January 2022, the DPAA disinterred all four sets of remains and taken to the agency's laboratory. —June 4, CBS News, 4 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for disinter

• midwinter
• reenter
• minter
• printer
• sinter
• splinter
• sprinter
• winter
• overwinter
• teleprinter

Kids Definition

disinter

verb

dis·​in·​ter ˌdis-ᵊn-ˈtər 

1

: to take out of the grave or tomb

2

: to bring back into awareness : unearth

disinterment

-mənt 

noun

Medical Definition

disinter

transitive verb

dis·​in·​ter ˌdis-ᵊn-ˈtər 

: to take out of the grave or tomb

disinterment

-mənt 

noun