Meanings
present singular third person effaces · participle present effacing · participle past effaced · past effaced
- transitiveTo erase (as anything impressed or inscribed upon a surface); to render illegible or indiscernible.
Do not efface what I've written on the chalkboard.
1 more example
An outline of the same device might be traced on his shield, though many a blow had almost effaced the painting.
1825, Walter Scott, The Talisman, A.L. Burt Company (1832?), 15Synonyms: rub out
- transitiveTo cause to disappear as if by rubbing out or striking out.
Some people like to efface their own memories with alcohol.
1 more example
The bright records of the last hour effaced all the darker traces left by long and weary days.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXXI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 254 - intransitiveTo make oneself inobtrusive as if due to modesty or diffidence.
Many people seem shy, but they really just efface for meekness.
- intransitivemedicineOf a woman: to have the cervix thin and stretch in this manner.
Some females efface 75% by the 39th week of pregnancy.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo erase (as anything impressed or inscribed upon a surface); to render illegible or indiscernible.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchesfacier“remove the face”
- Middle Frencheffacer“erase”
- Englishefface
From Middle French effacer (“erase”), from Old French esfacier (“remove the face”).
More words from Middle French, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic دَسَمَ, طَلَسَ
- دَسَمَ (dasama)to erase
- طَلَسَ (ṭalasa)to erase
- مَحَا (maḥā)to erase
Bulgarian премахвам, заличавам
- премахвам (premahvam)to erase
- заличавам (zaličavam)to erase
- изтривам (iztrivam)cause to disappear as if by rubbing out
- зачерквам (začerkvam)cause to disappear as if by rubbing out
Chinese Mandarin 磨
- 磨 (mó)to erase
Czech smazat, vymazat
- smazatto erase
- vymazatto erase
- zahladitto erase
- vymazatcause to disappear as if by rubbing out
Dutch zich wegcijferen
- zich wegcijferenmake oneself inobtrusive
Finnish pyyhkiä, pyyhkiä
- pyyhkiäto erase
- pyyhkiäcause to disappear as if by rubbing out
- vetäytyämake oneself inobtrusive
French effacer, effacer
- effacerto erase
- effacercause to disappear as if by rubbing out
- s'effacermake oneself inobtrusive
German unkenntlich machen, unlesbar machen
- unkenntlich machento erase
- unlesbar machento erase
- verwischento erase
- ausradierencause to disappear as if by rubbing out
- auslöschencause to disappear as if by rubbing out
- zum Verschwinden bringencause to disappear as if by rubbing out
Greek αποσβήνω
- αποσβήνω (aposvíno)to erase
Japanese 抹殺する, 消去する
- 抹殺する (massatsu suru)to erase
- 消去する (shōkyo suru)to erase
- 拭い去る (nuguisaru)cause to disappear as if by rubbing out
Latin dēlinō, oblitterō
- dēlinōto erase
- oblitterōto erase
Romanian șterge
- ștergeto erase
Russian стирать, замазывать
- стирать (stiratʹ)to erase
- замазывать (zamazyvatʹ)to erase
- стирать (stiratʹ)cause to disappear as if by rubbing out
- вычёркивать (vyčórkivatʹ)make oneself inobtrusive
Spanish borrar, borrar
- borrarto erase
- borrarcause to disappear as if by rubbing out
Swahili -futa
- -futato erase
Tagalog bura
- burato erase
Tamil அழி
- அழி (aḻi)to erase
Thai ล้าง
- ล้าง (láang)to erase
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with efface
Anagrams
Cite this entry
efface. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/efface
“efface.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/efface. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “efface,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/efface.
Source: efface on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.