effacement
noun
ef·face·ment
| \ i-ˈfās-mənt
, e-\
, e-\
Definition of effacement
1
: the act or process of effacing or eliminating something
Effacement of the forces that press upon or against consciousness is not a simple negation.— Charles E. Winquist
especially
: reduction to insignificance
It wasn't until after Luce's death, in 1967, that Hadden's name was restored to its place at the top of Time's masthead. His precocious rise and then gradual effacement is the fascinating story of Isaiah Wilner's "The Man Time Forgot … " — Charles McGrath
2
medical
: the thinning or obliteration of tissue or narrowing of an internal anatomical space
effacement of the spinal subarachnoid space
especially
: the shortening and thinning of the uterine cervix during labor so that only the external orifice remains
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Examples of effacement in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nowadays, those who violate progressive pieties risk ejection from the tribe and the wholesale effacement of their handiwork. — Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, "Cruel and Unusual Punishment," 10 Feb. 2019 If the essence of totalitarianism was collective self-effacement, the foundation of democracy would have to be the assertion of collective individuality. — Fred Turner, Harper's magazine, "Machine Politics," 10 Jan. 2019 Nowadays, those who violate progressive pieties risk ejection from the tribe and the wholesale effacement of their handiwork. — Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, "Cruel and Unusual Punishment," 10 Feb. 2019 Nowadays, those who violate progressive pieties risk ejection from the tribe and the wholesale effacement of their handiwork. — Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, "Cruel and Unusual Punishment," 10 Feb. 2019 Problems of displacement and effacement in the Bay Area continue to intensify. — Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, "“The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and the Fear of Being Erased," 7 June 2019 Nowadays, those who violate progressive pieties risk ejection from the tribe and the wholesale effacement of their handiwork. — WSJ, "Notable & Quotable: Banished," 23 Jan. 2019 The effacement of women from the annals of computing began early. — Stephen Phillips, San Francisco Chronicle, "New tech books: ‘Conspiracy,’ ‘Broad Band,’ ‘The Truth Machine’," 1 June 2018 Hamm's self-effacement is refreshing—and atypical—in an age when schools compete to land record-setting bequests earmarked for massive buildings named after wealthy alums. — Kevin Conley, Town & Country, "Secret Sharer," 1 May 2014These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'effacement.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for effacement
effacement
noun
ef·face·ment
| \ i-ˈfās-mənt, e-
\
\
Medical Definition of effacement
: the thinning or obliteration of tissue or narrowing of an internal anatomical space
effacement of the spinal subarachnoid space
especially
: the shortening and thinning of the uterine cervix during labor so that only the external orifice remains
Though far from strong enough to bring your baby into the world, late-third-trimester Braxton Hicks contractions contribute to the effacement and dilation of the cervix … — Arlene Eisenberg et al., Parenting, June/July 1996
Other Words from effacement
efface
\ -ˈfās
\
transitive verb
effaced;
effacing
\
transitive verb
effaced;
effacing