erasure

American  

[ih-rey-sher] / ɪˈreɪ ʃər /

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.

3. 1. the exclusion of a minority group or group member from the historical record, or from the discussion of current events: black victim erasure in the crime-bill debate.

      erasure of female scientists from textbooks;

      black victim erasure in the crime-bill debate.

   2. 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.

   3. the denial of an individual’s or group’s minority identity, or the misidentification of a minority group member: cultural erasure and white identity among Chicanos.

      trans-erasure issues in the LGBT community;

      cultural erasure and white identity among Chicanos.

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erasure British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• nonerasure noun

Etymology

Origin of erasure

First recorded in 1725–35; erase + -ure

Example Sentences

Harmonia Rosales’ Black figurative paintings combine Eurocentric artistic traditions with African diasporic cosmologies as a way to course-correct the historical erasure of Black images from classical narratives.

From Los Angeles Times

“Black people have experienced quite a level of erasure in South L.A.,” added Karen Mack, founder and executive director of LA Commons.

From Los Angeles Times

The hearing concluded that erasure from the medical register was the only suitable option, given that her behaviour was "fundamentally incompatible with her continued registration as a doctor."

From BBC

Carthage’s deeper tragedy lies in the subsequent erasure of its history, language and culture, not in its physical destruction, which befalls all empires.

From The Wall Street Journal

"New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history," he wrote on X.

From Barron's

Related Words

• deletion