as in withdrawn
not comfortable around people
he's dating a sweet, self-effacing girl
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-effacing
Pamela is a self-effacing free spirit whose honesty and abandonment cast a spell on the embittered Wendall.
—
Rance Collins, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025
With perfect timing, a self-effacing delivery made for banquets, only Denehy could tell them just right.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2025
Ed Ulbrich is fairly self-effacing about his calling as a builder of bridges between entertainment and technology.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 2 July 2025
In between her many, many self-effacing barbs, Glaser slid in some stingers about the guests seated before her.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-effacing
Rance Collins, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025
With perfect timing, a self-effacing delivery made for banquets, only Denehy could tell them just right.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2025
Ed Ulbrich is fairly self-effacing about his calling as a builder of bridges between entertainment and technology.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 2 July 2025
In between her many, many self-effacing barbs, Glaser slid in some stingers about the guests seated before her.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-effacing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-effacing
Adjective
-
Set in Taiwan in 1988, Girl revolves around Hsiao-lee, a quiet and withdrawn girl, growing up in silent gloom.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Unfortunately, further discussions were heated, with no resolve, just more withdrawn behavior while the communications continued.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
30 July 2025
Adjective
-
The Broncos took possession at the 5-minute mark in the second half, converted one third down and then were stopped one yard shy on their next third down.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
One model skipped, some walked barefoot, others were shy.—
Jennifer Weil,
Footwear News,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Livestreaming isn’t the same as actually being there and seeing the fabric flow, the textures, the audience reaction and the bashful designer with their head down, forced onto the runway at the end of each show.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Conrad is gorgeous yet bashful.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-effacing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-effacing. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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