self-effacing

English

Etymology

From self- +‎ effacing.

Adjective

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

1. 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^[1]:

     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^[2], →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
• Serbo-Croatian: samozatajan (sh)
• Swedish: självutplånande (sv)