self-effacing
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Explanation
Someone who's self-effacing is shy and likes to stay out of the spotlight, shunning attention and praise. To efface something is to erase it, so to be self-effacing is to try to remove yourself from various situations, especially ones that draw attention. If someone says you did a great job and you say, "It was nothing," that's self-effacing. It is usually considered a positive quality, since it's the opposite of being cocky, egotistical, and attention-hogging. The root of effacing is the Old French word esfacier, which means "to wipe out or destroy," literally "to remove the face."
Vocabulary lists containing self-effacing
Flowers for Algernon
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"Curtis Aikens and the American Dream" and "Go For It!"
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All My Sons
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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.
"He's very self-effacing about it - I think that he just knew he was not cut out for it," he says.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026
In the pilot, she is insecure and self-effacing; when a car almost runs her over, she apologizes to the driver.
From Salon • Dec. 15, 2025
In those days very few companies, least of all life and health insurers, would have dared to engage in self-effacing humor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025
Vaill also takes exception to the characterization of Eliza as self-effacing.
From Slate • Oct. 21, 2025
They were my family’s friends and neighbors and coworkers, and before, their presence would have encouraged me to be quiet and self-effacing.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
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.
