Meaning & use
self-effacing people
Last updated
Meanings
nounpluralapproving
People who avoid drawing attention to themselves or their achievements, often letting others take credit.
Grammar: Plural noun phrase; for one person say 'a self-effacing person' or 'a self-effacing man/woman'.
Patterns
- self-effacing people who ...
- be self-effacing about something
Self-effacing people often do excellent work without ever mentioning it.
In meetings, self-effacing people may stay quiet even when they have the best idea.
She prefers working with self-effacing people because they share credit easily.
adjectivenot comparableapproving
Not wanting to be noticed or praised; modest about your own abilities.
Grammar: Used before a plural noun here; it can also follow a linking verb, as in 'he is self-effacing'.
Patterns
- be self-effacing about something
- a self-effacing manner
The award winner was surprisingly self-effacing about his role in the discovery.
Her self-effacing style makes new colleagues underestimate her at first.
Word forms
| singular | self-effacing person |
|---|
Common combinations
- genuinely self-effacing
- He is genuinely self-effacing and never mentions his own success.
- a self-effacing manner
- Her self-effacing manner puts nervous guests at ease.
- self-effacing about your achievements
- Try not to be too self-effacing about your achievements in an interview.
- quiet and self-effacing
- The new manager is quiet and self-effacing but very effective.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modest
- The everyday word; it simply means not boasting, while self-effacing stresses actively avoiding attention.
- unassuming
- Describes someone who does not claim importance; it fits a person's manner more than a single act.
- humble
- Can suggest low rank as well as a modest attitude, so it is broader than self-effacing.
Opposites
Word family
- self-effacement noun
- the quality of not seeking attention
- efface verb
- to remove or rub out something, literally or figuratively
Commonly confused: self-effacing people or self-defacing?
self-effacing people vs self-defacing
Rare and usually a mistake; 'deface' means to damage a surface, so 'self-defacing' is not the usual word for modesty.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses the phrase correctly.
Choose one answer.
The phrase is plural, so it takes a plural verb 'talk' and the plural pronoun 'their'; 'talks' and 'is' are singular, and 'himself' does not match a plural subject.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-effacing people”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.