efface
Americanverb (used with object)
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to wipe out; do away with; expunge.
to efface one's unhappy memories.
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to rub out, erase, or obliterate (outlines, traces, inscriptions, etc.).
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to make (oneself ) inconspicuous; withdraw (oneself ) modestly or shyly.
verb
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to obliterate or make dim
to efface a memory
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to make (oneself) inconspicuous or humble through modesty, cowardice, or obsequiousness
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to rub out (a line, drawing, etc); erase
Other Word Forms
- effaceable adjective
- effacement noun
- effacer noun
- uneffaceable adjective
- uneffaced adjective
Etymology
Origin of efface
From the Middle French word effacer, dating back to 1480–90; ef-, face
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"You may have the power to bring down the government. But you cannot efface reality," he said.
From BBC • Sep. 8, 2025
The novel derives its memorable title from Laila’s admonition that the narrator efface her idiosyncrasies, the better to morph into a version of her mother.
From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2020
The wind that exposed the ancient buildings now promises to efface them altogether in a short time.
From Washington Post • Oct. 3, 2019
Most essentially, “Time Is the Thing a Body Moves Through,” not unlike Fleischmann’s first book “Syzygy, Beauty,” effaces lines of genre as a strategy to efface, or disrupt, lines of self and gender.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2019
They seemed very small, and they tried to efface themselves in outside neglect, and the wild overgrown front yards tried to hide them from the street.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
