self-effacement

American  

[self-i-feys-muhnt, self-] / ˈsɛlf ɪˈfeɪs mənt, ˌsɛlf- /

noun

1. the act or fact of keeping oneself in the background, as in humility.

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self-effacement British  

noun

1. the act of making oneself, one's actions, etc, inconspicuous, esp because of humility or timidity

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Other Word Forms

• self-effacing adjective
• self-effacingly adverb
• self-effacingness noun

Etymology

Origin of self-effacement

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

The clean installation helps the viewer to “get” Samaras—his off-kilter intensity and odd self-effacement, in spite of all the focus on his own likeness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll, Sean Payton — each has an interesting self-effacement and a marked knack for creating loyal staffs.

From Washington Post • Dec. 23, 2021

These characters, with their separate agendas, are intended to awaken Tell and to propel him to end his self-effacement.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 9, 2021

In between the song and dance, he’d read poems in a similar mode: an intersection of high art and low humor, amusing yet serious, endearing in their self-effacement.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2021

It is safer, you conclude, to choose self-effacement at this critical moment in your career.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker