effacement

noun

ef·​face·​ment i-ˈfās-mənt 

e-

1

: the act or process of effacing or eliminating something

Effacement of the forces that press upon or against consciousness is not a simple negation.

—Charles E. Winquist

especially : reduction to insignificance

It wasn't until after Luce's death, in 1967, that Hadden's name was restored to its place at the top of Time's masthead. His precocious rise and then gradual effacement is the fascinating story of Isaiah Wilner's "The Man Time Forgot … "

—Charles McGrath

2

medical : the thinning or obliteration of tissue or narrowing of an internal anatomical space

effacement of the spinal subarachnoid space

especially : the shortening and thinning of the uterine cervix during labor so that only the external orifice remains

Examples of effacement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To be fair, the effacement of character is itself one of Leitch’s dramatic points. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024

There are times in The Years when the betrayal and effacement of May compels Ernaux to say something similar. —Tobi Haslett, Harper's Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023

Harris’s insistence on self-effacement and close attention to Black social relations is what makes her commentary effective. —Ismail Muhammad, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2022

Only in retrospect does the insincere self-effacement by some of the most powerful men of their era take on the infantile quality of potty humor. —Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1753, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing effacement

• self-effacement

Medical Definition

effacement

noun

ef·​face·​ment i-ˈfās-mənt, e- 

: the thinning or obliteration of tissue or narrowing of an internal anatomical space

effacement of the spinal subarachnoid space

especially : the shortening and thinning of the uterine cervix during labor so that only the external orifice remains

Though far from strong enough to bring your baby into the world, late-third-trimester Braxton Hicks contractions contribute to the effacement and dilation of the cervix …

—Arlene Eisenberg et al., Parenting

efface

-ˈfās 

transitive verb

effaced; effacing