Words / S / Business

self-effacing

adjective/ˌself ɪˈfeɪsɪŋ/

C2CEFR level
70/100Rarity: rare
TechnicalRegister

Modest and reluctant to draw attention to oneself.

A self-effacing leader, she deflected credit to her team while quietly absorbing the blame for setbacks.

Similar: modest, unassuming, retiring

Topic: Leadership & management in Business English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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