efface

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To erase (as anything impressed or inscribed upon a surface); to render illegible or indiscernible.
To cause to disappear as if by rubbing out or striking out.
To make oneself inobtrusive as if due to modesty or diffidence.
Of the cervix during pregnancy, to thin and stretch in preparation for labor.
Of a woman: to have the cervix thin and stretch in this manner.

/əˈfeɪs/ /ɪˈfeɪs/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-efface.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-efface2.wav

efface effaces effacing effaced

From Middle French effacer (“erase”), from Old French esfacier (“remove the face”).

rub out

deface

effaceable effacement effacer ineffaceable self-effacing uneffaced

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