as in to erase
to destroy all traces of
when the supply ship finally arrived, it discovered that virtually all evidence of the colony at Roanoke had been effaced
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Recent Examples of efface
Lee’s joie de vivre infects her co-workers and bosses, who likewise begin to think that loneliness is something to be felt rather than effaced.
—
Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Agnes spends the series sheathed in a drab, severe outfit that effaces her as a person, couture from the House of Orwell.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
All the conflict and violence contained within this West Bank scene could not quite efface the beauty of it, as if the possibility of peace still lived somewhere, awaiting some unlikely rebirth of statesmanship.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024
The movie’s preening title (effacing Everett’s Erasure, from 2001) raises impossible expectations.
—Armond White, National Review, 15 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for efface 
Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Agnes spends the series sheathed in a drab, severe outfit that effaces her as a person, couture from the House of Orwell.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
All the conflict and violence contained within this West Bank scene could not quite efface the beauty of it, as if the possibility of peace still lived somewhere, awaiting some unlikely rebirth of statesmanship.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024
The movie’s preening title (effacing Everett’s Erasure, from 2001) raises impossible expectations.
—Armond White, National Review, 15 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for efface
Recent Examples of Synonyms for efface
Verb
-
President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship threatens to erase the futures of countless children—children whose potential will go untapped, whose contributions to art, science, and justice might never be realized.—
Paola Mendoza,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
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Despite that, Djokovic played well enough to erase a deficit and overcome Alcaraz in four sets.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The theory holds that a community that rids itself of petty crime, such as shoplifting, vandalism and trespassing, can eradicate more serious crime because criminals won’t have anywhere to hide.—
JULIE K. BROWN,
Miami Herald,
23 Jan. 2025
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Its achievements include eradicating smallpox and bringing polio to the brink of elimination.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
About a quarter century after slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico (1873), another Afro-Puerto Rican genre emerged known as the plena.—
Vanessa Diaz,
Rolling Stone,
20 Jan. 2025
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Trump said in December that the debt ceiling should be abolished, a position shared by some liberal lawmakers.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
16 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near efface
Cite this Entry
“Efface.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/efface. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
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