self-effacing
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Parton’s self-effacing jokes made her immense talent less threatening in an entertainment industry that often reserved the title of “genius songwriter” for men.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
So how did this seemingly quiet, retiring child and self-effacing bureaucrat turn into a president who so avidly embraced the limelight?
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
So self-effacing is Rembrandt, in fact, that some portraits, and this is one, seem to have come into being independent of human agency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
In the pilot, she is insecure and self-effacing; when a car almost runs her over, she apologizes to the driver.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2025
With his pipe, genially self-effacing manner, and electrified hair, Einstein was too splendid a figure to remain permanently obscure, and in 1919, the war over, the world suddenly discovered him.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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Vocabulary lists containing self-effacing
Flowers for Algernon
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"Curtis Aikens and the American Dream" and "Go For It!"
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All My Sons
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