self-effacing

adjective

self-ef·​fac·​ing ˌself-i-ˈfā-siŋ 

-e-

: having or showing a tendency to make oneself modestly or shyly inconspicuous

His passions and faith run soul-deep, his gentle wit is always self-effacing and never insulting …

—Don Gaetz

… she was an extremely self-effacing, private person who never sought the limelight and did not leave the usual artifacts that enable a biographer to reconstruct life patterns.

—Douglas R. McManis

Synonyms of self-effacing

• withdrawn
• shy
• bashful

Examples of self-effacing in a Sentence

he's dating a sweet, self-effacing girl

Recent Examples on the Web

As far as first impressions go, this initial exchange proves that Ortega is equal parts self-effacing and silly. — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 8 Apr. 2026

Lots of overnight successes grapple with fame on their follow-up album, and this subject matter intensifies Kahan’s already self-effacing lyricism. — Hannah Jocelyn, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026

Yet at a vital moment of national self-representation, the design’s self-effacing dimensions stirred up far-reaching questions about scale, politics, and monumentality. — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 16 Apr. 2026

Christian Bale’s $22 Million Off-Screen Project While Bale was being self-effacing on the red carpet, his work off-screen tells a different story. — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-effacing

• interfacing
• interlacing
• basing
• bracing
• casing
• chasing
• facing
• gracing
• lacing
• lasing
• pacing
• placing