(pronounced ih-FAS)

This verb can be relevant to people or to objects, and we’ll explain the latter first. It means to cause to disappear or to erase or obscure as if by erosion (natural or deliberate). When applied to human beings, it means to make oneself unassumingly and discreetly inconspicuous. The example sentence below refers to this last definition.

Example: Since she had just started her internship and didn’t exactly understand what was going on, for now Roberta made a point to efface herself at both staff and project meetings, taking care to absorb every detail.