as in withdrawn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
Bearing a flawlessly polite and self-effacing demeanor, Mr. Blinken spent countless hours trying to resolve and prevent conflict.
—
Edward Wong, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
But behind the self-effacing demeanor, allies of Ms. Wiles said, is a woman who can wield a scalpel.
—Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
The outward-facing woman was self-effacing and gracious and vivacious, a compassionate listener.
—Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
The self-effacing Tunney wasn’t incognito to a lot of his students.
—Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for self-effacing
Edward Wong, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
But behind the self-effacing demeanor, allies of Ms. Wiles said, is a woman who can wield a scalpel.
—Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
The outward-facing woman was self-effacing and gracious and vivacious, a compassionate listener.
—Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
The self-effacing Tunney wasn’t incognito to a lot of his students.
—Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for self-effacing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-effacing
Adjective
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The withdrawn San Francisco drama, about lonely nonbinary nanny and restaurant server Cass (Asia Kate Dillon), is simple in its presentation, but disguises numerous layers to its story.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Mar. 2025
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Jade and John told Dateline both had noticed their daughter was acting a bit withdrawn in the period leading up to her disappearance.—
Veronica Fulton,
NBC News,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Our analysis looking at US Treasury data shows foreign investors owned just shy of $17 trillion of US stocks as of Q2 2024, which is the latest available information.—
Brendan Ahern,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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Justin’s 10 birdies Sunday were one shy of the Masters single-round record, held by Anthony Kim (second round in 2009).—
Justin Ray,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Cher was bashful to be busted but then couldn’t help laughing out loud at the audacity.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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Or maybe the movie’s stars are just feeling a bit bashful!—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-effacing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-effacing. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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