ˌself-efˈfacing BrE AmE adjective
not wanting to attract attention to yourself or your achievements SYN modest :
a quiet self-effacing man
—self-effacement noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ modest not wanting to talk about your abilities or achievements and to say that you are good at something, even when you are – used to show approval:
Miller, a quiet, modest man, gave credit to Asher for the initial discovery.
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She was surprisingly modest about her own achievements as a player.
▪ self-effacing written not wanting to talk about yourself or to attract attention:
Her husband was a quiet, self-effacing man who spent much of his time in his study.
▪ unassuming not wanting to be noticed and not expecting to be treated in a special way:
By now Chapman was famous, but he remained as unassuming as ever.
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He then began, in typically unassuming fashion, to establish the first modern dance company.
▪ humble believing that you are not more important, better, or cleverer than other people, and therefore not expecting to be treated in a special way:
A good leader is humble enough to get advice from experts.
▪ unpretentious not trying to seem better than other people, even if you are rich, famous, clever etc:
President Eisenhower was a friendly and unpretentious man who seemed to embody American virtues.
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It's his unpretentious boyish charm that ensures Jackie Chan's position as one of the giants of international cinema.
▪ self-deprecating written behaving or talking about your own abilities or achievements in a way that makes them seem unimportant:
Despite his intellect, he had an appealing self-deprecating humour.
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The nice thing about him is his self-deprecating manner. His intellectual ability was never pushed at you, yet he obviously had great potential.
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a self-deprecating smile