effacement

noun3

1. •
   The act of expunging, of wiping out; expungement.
2. •
   Withdrawal in order to make oneself inconspicuous; the making of oneself inconspicuous.

   • Native Americans seem to have always placed great value on silence and direct experience, and in indigenous cultures in general, silence denotes respect and self-effacement. — 2007
3. •
   A shortening, or thinning, of the cervix before or during early labour.