self-effacement

American  

[self-i-fays-muhnt, self-] / ˈsɛlf ɪˈfeɪs mənt, ˌsɛlf- /

noun

1. the act or fact of keeping oneself in the background, as in humility.

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self-effacement British  

noun

1. the act of making oneself, one's actions, etc, inconspicuous, esp because of humility or timidity

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Other Word Forms

• self-effacingness
  noun
• self-effacing
  adjective
• self-effacingly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of self-effacement

First recorded in 1865–70

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-effacement

“Bluesky apology forms” even began to circulate among lefties with a sense of humor and self-effacement.

From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026

Stuart had to paint humility and self-effacement when his favorite clientele laughed at his jokes, drank with him and enjoyed his raconteur flirtations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

“Acting felt like the thing I could fake, because everybody else was so good at everything,” she said with typical self-effacement.

From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2023

“One of the reasons Boseman was such a marvelous actor was his genius for self-effacement, his ability to hold the spotlight without dominating it,” Chang writes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2022

It is safer, you conclude, to choose self-effacement at this critical moment in your career.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

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