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EFFACEMENT

 - 4 dictionary results

ef⋅face

  [i-feys]
Use EFFACEMENT in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -faced, -fac⋅ing.
1. to wipe out; do away with; expunge: to efface one's unhappy memories.
2. to rub out, erase, or obliterate (outlines, traces, inscriptions, etc.).
3. to make (oneself) inconspicuous; withdraw (oneself) modestly or shyly.
Origin:
1480–90; < MF effacer. See ef-, face

Related forms:
ef⋅face⋅a⋅ble, adjective
ef⋅face⋅ment, noun
ef⋅fac⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To EFFACEMENT
ef·face   (ĭ-fās')   
tr.v.   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).


[Middle English effacen, from French effacer, from Old French esfacier : es-, out (from Latin ex-, ex-) + face, face; see face.]
ef·face'a·ble adj., ef·face'ment n., ef·fac'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

efface 
1490, from M.Fr. effacer, from O.Fr. esfacier, from es- "out" + face "appearance," from L. facies "face."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ef·face·ment
Pronunciation: i-'fAs-m&nt, e-
Function: noun
: obliteration of the uterine cervix by shortening and softeningduring labor so that only the external orifice remains —ef·face /-'fAs/ transitive verb ef·faced; ef·fac·ing
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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