efface

verb

ef·​face i-ˈfās How to pronounce efface (audio)
e-
effaced; effacing

transitive verb

1
: to eliminate or make indistinct by or as if by wearing away a surface
coins with dates effaced by wear
also : to cause to vanish
daylight effaced the stars
2
: to make (oneself) modestly or shyly inconspicuous
effaceable adjective
effacer noun

Examples of efface in a Sentence

coins with dates effaced by wear a memory effaced by time
Recent Examples on the Web Agnes spends the series sheathed in a drab, severe outfit that effaces her as a person, couture from the House of Orwell. James Poniewozik, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 All the conflict and violence contained within this West Bank scene could not quite efface the beauty of it, as if the possibility of peace still lived somewhere, awaiting some unlikely rebirth of statesmanship. Roger Cohen, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024 The movie’s preening title (effacing Everett’s Erasure, from 2001) raises impossible expectations. Armond White, National Review, 15 Dec. 2023 Displaying the grand talent can bring moods of utter absorption capable of effacing the world, and this may not help that world feel solid or nourishing, or make its responses seem trustworthy. Simon Callow, The New York Review of Books, 22 Dec. 2022 The government even wanted criticism of its mishandling of covid-19 effaced from Twitter. Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 13 June 2023 Honoré recalls the dirt of a horny adolescent’s lust, the emotional confusion that twists desire for contact and intimacy into degradation, self-abnegation, and the longing for salvation — needs effaced by the title’s unclear American translation. Armond White, National Review, 5 May 2023 My hope that movements could efface the democracy-weakening impact of mass incarceration was last kindled by the millions who poured into the streets in 2020 to protest George Floyd’s murder by police. Victor Ray, The New Republic, 5 Dec. 2022 The fact that their lives also contained sources of fulfillment doesn’t efface this fact. Andrew Stark, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'efface.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French esfacer, effacer, from e- + face face

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of efface was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near efface

Cite this Entry

“Efface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efface. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

efface

verb
ef·​face i-ˈfās How to pronounce efface (audio)
e-
effaced; effacing
1
2
: to make unclear by or as if by rubbing out
effaceable adjective
effacement noun
effacer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on efface

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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