Meanings
nounself-effacement (usually uncountable, plural self-effacements)
plural self-effacements
- uncountableusuallyThe act of keeping oneself in the background, as in humility.
John likes to remain unnoticed and does so naturally through the self-effacement found in his personality.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounwithdrawing into the background; making yourself inconspicuous
Similar
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*swé?
- Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
- Proto-Germanic*selbaz
- Old Englishself
- Old Englishself-
- Middle Englishself-
- Englishself-
- Englisheffacement
- Englishself-effacement
From self- + effacement.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish vaatimattomuus
- vaatimattomuuskeeping in the background
Hungarian visszahúzódás, félrehúzódás
- visszahúzódáskeeping in the background
- félrehúzódáskeeping in the background
- háttérbe húzódáskeeping in the background
- háttérben maradáskeeping in the background
Persian محو
- محو (mahv)keeping in the background
Swedish självutplåning
- självutplåningkeeping in the background
Cite this entry
APA
self-effacement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-effacement
MLA
“self-effacement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-effacement. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-effacement,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-effacement.
Source: self-effacement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.