effacing
Making marks disappear
Effacing means erasing, obscuring, or making inconspicuous.
You might efface an inscription by wearing it away, or efface a memory by suppressing it.
More commonly, effacing describes modest or self-deprecating behavior—someone with an effacing manner deliberately avoids drawing attention to themselves: His quiet, effacing presence made him easy to overlook.
Belittling one's own abilities
- unassumingNot making claims
- modestLacking in pretension
- meekHumbly unassertive
- humbleUnassuming about oneself
demure · retiring · reserved · diffident · unpretentious · understated · unobtrusive · down-to-earth
Destroy all traces of
blot · redact · scrub · abrade · rub out · wear away · remove · eradicate
Bending under pressure
- compliantYielding to others' wishes
- deferentialShowing humble submission
- acquiescentAccepting without resistance
- subservientExcessively eager to obey
submissive · obsequious · servile · accommodating · self-denying · self-sacrificing · kowtowing · bowing
self-deprecating
Belittling one's own abilities
- unassumingNot making claims
- modestLacking in pretension
- meekHumbly unassertive
humble · demure · retiring · reserved · diffident · unpretentious · understated · unobtrusive · down-to-earth · low-key
obliterate
Destroy all traces of
wipe · blot · redact · scrub · abrade · rub out · wear away · remove · eradicate · excise
yielding
Bending under pressure
- compliantYielding to others' wishes
- deferentialShowing humble submission
- acquiescentAccepting without resistance
subservient · submissive · obsequious · servile · accommodating · self-denying · self-sacrificing · kowtowing · bowing · prostrating
effacingpreserving
Protecting from deterioration
highlighting · emphasizing · accentuating · showcasing · spotlighting
effacingself-aggrandizing
Exalting one's own status
assertive · boastful · vainglorious · ostentatious · attention-seeking
effacinginscribing
Carving text into material
engraving · imprinting · etching · marking · embossing