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Definition of efface


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ef·face  audio  (-fs) KEY  

TRANSITIVE VERB:
ef·faced , ef·fac·ing , ef·fac·es
  1. To rub or wipe out; erase.
  2. To make indistinct as if by rubbing: "Five years' absence had done nothing to efface the people's memory of his firmness" (Alan Moorehead). See Synonyms at erase.
  3. To conduct (oneself) inconspicuously: "When the two women went out together, Anna deliberately effaced herself and played to the dramatic Molly" (Doris Lessing).

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English effacen, from French effacer, from Old French esfacier : es-, out (from Latin ex-, ex-) + face, face ; see face

OTHER FORMS:
ef·facea·ble (Adjective), ef·facement (Noun), ef·facer (Noun)


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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