effacement

[ ih-feys-muhnt ]

noun

1. the act of wiping out, erasing, or doing away with something:

   The gradual effacement of ethnic differences has often been seen as a solution to the difficulties experienced by immigrants.

2. the act or habit of humbly keeping oneself in the background; self-effacement:

   There's nothing showy about the way this author writes; a sort of vast humility and effacement echoes through the whole book.

3. Medicine/Medical. the thinning of bodily tissue, especially of the cervix to prepare for childbirth:

   Cervical effacement is usually nearly complete before the first phase of labor.

Word History and Origins

Origin of effacement¹

efface ( def ) + -ment ( def )

Example Sentences

It is no wonder he could not find the balance between self-effacement and self-promotion.

From The Daily Beast

"I'm just a hack," he says, sincerely, although I believe his self-effacement doubles as a cover.

From The Daily Beast

This will require patience and self-effacement from a man accustomed to dominating the economic-policy discussion.

From The Daily Beast

Owing to her consummate genius for self-effacement, Brodrick remained peculiarly unaware.

From Project Gutenberg

On the background of Jane's silence and effacement nothing stood out except Gertrude Collett.

From Project Gutenberg

She had produced the effect of shrinking from observation under some subtle shadow of self-effacement.

From Project Gutenberg

The agency of their effacement was an endemic disorder known as yellow fever.

From Project Gutenberg

Somehow, their self-effacement in his behalf touched him more keenly than anything else had done during this troubled period.

From Project Gutenberg