as in erasing
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 effacing
Their struggle has upturned the tabletop candle that illuminates the scene and any moment will surely extinguish it, effacing the giddy pattern formed by the writhing bodies and glowing, veiny bladder skin.
—
Julian Bell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
The leaps in time have the eerie effect of effacing time—the layered succession of images implying their simultaneity in Lidia’s mind.
—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2026
Julian Bell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
The leaps in time have the eerie effect of effacing time—the layered succession of images implying their simultaneity in Lidia’s mind.
—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effacing
Verb
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The birthright citizenship ruling was a win for democracy — and a warning about erasing history, argues columnist Anita Chabria.
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Love is the capacity to hold difference without fragmentation, to bring parts into relationship without erasing their uniqueness and to align intelligence with constructive becoming.
Verb
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When William and his brother, Prince Harry, were young boys, the former Princess of Wales would regularly take them to homeless shelters, and eradicating homelessness has become a cornerstone of the future king’s royal work.
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The path through impostor syndrome is not about eradicating the doubt.
Verb
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Many of its candidates support entirely eliminating immigration enforcement, abolishing the police, sweeping wealth redistribution and expanding government ownership over significant sectors of the economy.
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But how does that -- how does abolishing prisons or having open borders fit into that?
Verb
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Mexican fruit flies are one of the world’s most destructive pests when laying their eggs, destroying or damaging fruit such as apples, grapefruits, avocados, peaches and pears, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
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But Blue Origin suffered a major setback in May when one of its New Glenn rockets abruptly exploded on the launchpad, destroying vital infrastructure that will take months to rebuild.
Cite this Entry
“Effacing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effacing. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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