erasure

[ ih-rey-sher ]
See synonyms for erasure on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an act or instance of erasing.

  2. a place where something has been erased; a spot or mark left after erasing: You can't sign a contract with so many erasures in it.

    • the exclusion of a minority group or group member from the historical record, or from the discussion of current events:erasure of female scientists from textbooks; black victim erasure in the crime-bill debate.

    • the replacement or whitewashing of a minority character or group with a member or members of the dominant cultural group in fictional representations of historical events:minority erasure in film.

    • the denial of an individual’s or group’s minority identity, or the misidentification of a minority group member:trans-erasure issues in the LGBT community; cultural erasure and white identity among Chicanos.

Origin of erasure

1
First recorded in 1725–35; erase + -ure

Other words from erasure

  • non·e·ra·sure, noun

Words Nearby erasure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use erasure in a sentence

  • The French attorney general demanded the erasure of his name from the list of magistrates, but this the court refused.

  • For answer she bent over her typewriter and began to make an erasure.

    Tom Slade with the Colors | Percy K. Fitzhugh
  • Bruslart (ubi supra, i. 136) denies that the erasure was actually made as Charles had commanded.

  • This thin paste of wax was also spread on tablets of wood, that it might more easily admit of erasure.

  • Consequently the action of the iodine differs according to the extent of the erasure.

    Disputed Handwriting | Jerome B. Lavay

British Dictionary definitions for erasure

erasure

/ (ɪˈreɪʒə) /


noun
  1. the act or an instance of erasing

  2. the place or mark, as on a piece of paper, where something has been erased

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012