self-effacing
adjEtymology From 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.
- […] When asked about this, Muldoon's self-effacing response is: “I don't think so!”2001 May 12, Robert Potts, quoting Paul Muldoon, “The poet at play”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 13 Feb 2021:
2 more examples
- 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.2007 January 3, Ian Gillan, “DEEP PURPLE Frontman: ELVIS PRESLEY 'Was The Greatest Singer That Ever Lived'”, in blabbermouth.net, archived from the original on 21 Sep 2020:
- 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 got2010, “Age of Adz”, in The Age of Adz, performed by Sufjan Stevens:
- Derived terms
- self-effacingly, self-effacingness