All 3 Uses of
efface
in
War and Peace
- Where, how, and when had this young countess, educated by an emigree French governess, imbibed from the Russian air she breathed that spirit and obtained that manner which the pas de chale * would, one would have supposed, long ago have effaced?†
Chpt 7 *effaced = removed completely from recognition or memory
- * I did not mean anything, I was only joking," he said, smiling shyly and trying to efface his offense.†
Chpt 5
- He now felt ashamed of his speech with its constitutional tendency and sought an opportunity of effacing it.†
Chpt 9
Definitions:
-
(1)
(efface as in: efface the memory) remove completely from recognition or memory -- sometimes by erasing
-
(2)
(efface as in: efface herself) to make oneself inconspicuous or unimportant
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rare, specialized senses include:- ballet -- a way of standing at an angle that hides part of the body from view
- medicine -- describing the cervix as getting shorter, softer, and thinner during labor