self-effacing

English

Etymology

self- +‎ effacing

Adjective

self-effacing (comparative more self-effacing, superlative most self-effacing)

Shy, extremely humble and modest; making oneself seem unnoticeable.
Clark Kent's self-effacing behavior is to purposefully make people ignore him.
- 2007 January 3, Ian Gillan, “DEEP PURPLE Frontman: ELVIS PRESLEY 'Was The Greatest Singer That Ever Lived'”, in blabbermouth.net‎:
  His personality was also extremely endearing, his interviews were very self-effacing (and), he came over as gentle and was generous in his praise of others.
- 2001 May 12, Robert Potts, quoting Paul Muldoon, “The poet at play”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:
  […] When asked about this, Muldoon's self-effacing response is: “I don't think so!”
- 2010, “Age of Adz”, in The Age of Adz, performed by Sufjan Stevens:
  I'm sorry if I seem self-effacing / Consumed by selfish thoughts / It's only that I still love you deeply / It's all the love I got

Translations

extremely humble and modest

Finnish: vaatimaton (fi), nöyrä (fi), huomaamaton (fi)
German: bescheiden (de), zurückhaltend (de), still (de), schüchtern (de), sanftmütig, sanft (de), zaghaft (de), demütig (de)
Italian: timido (it), introverso (it), schivo (it), pavido (it)
Maori: whakapāpaku, whakamōwai, hūnguengue, tāharahara
Swedish: självutplånande (sv)

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.