Pronunciations (3)
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/əˈfeɪs/
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/ɪˈfeɪs/
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əˈfeɪs
Verb
To erase (as anything impressed or inscribed upon a surface); to render illegible or indiscernible.
Usage- Transitive
- Synonyms
- Examples
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Do not efface what I've written on the chalkboard.
An outline of the same device might be traced on his shield, though many a blow had almost effaced the painting.
To cause to disappear as if by rubbing out or striking out.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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Some people like to efface their own memories with alcohol.
The bright records of the last hour effaced all the darker traces left by long and weary days.
To make oneself inobtrusive as if due to modesty or diffidence.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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Many people seem shy, but they really just efface for meekness.
Of the cervix during pregnancy, to thin and stretch in preparation for labor.
Usage- Intransitive
Of a woman: to have the cervix thin and stretch in this manner.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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Some females efface 75% by the 39th week of pregnancy.
Verb
remove completely from recognition or memory
- Synonyms
- Examples
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efface the memory of the time in the camps
make inconspicuous
- Broader terms
- Examples
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efface oneself
remove by or as if by rubbing or erasing
- Examples
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Please erase the formula on the blackboard — it is wrong!