Efface \Ef*face"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Effaced; p. pr. & vb. n. Effacing.]

[F. effacer; pref. es- (L. ex) + face face; prop., to destroy the face or form. See Face, and cf. Deface.]

1. To cause to disappear (as anything impresses or inscribed upon a surface) by rubbing out, striking out, etc.; to erase; to render illegible or indiscernible; as, to efface the letters on a monument, or the inscription on a coin.

2. To destroy, as a mental impression; to wear away.

Efface from his mind the theories and notions vulgarly received. --Bacon.

Syn: To blot out; expunge; erase; obliterate; cancel; destroy. -- Efface, Deface. To deface is to injure or impair a figure; to efface is to rub out or destroy, so as to render invisible.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)