deface
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to mar the surface or appearance of; disfigure.
to deface a wall by writing on it.
- Synonyms:
- spoil
-
to efface, obliterate, or injure the surface of, as to make illegible or invalid.
to deface a bond.
verb
Related Words
See mar.
Other Word Forms
- defaceable adjective
- defacement noun
- defacer noun
- undefaceable adjective
- undefaced adjective
Etymology
Origin of deface
1275–1325; Middle English defacen, from Old French desfacier, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + facier ( face face + -ier infinitive suffix)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She’s an aesthete run amok, determined to deface anything that doesn’t live up to her impossible standards.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026
But police have gone further, declaring an exclusion zone around the Cenotaph and stationing a 24-hour guard around the memorial, amid concerns that some protesters may seek to deface it.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 11, 2023
Donya says people in Tehran continue to deface government billboards and to write "#Mahsa" and "Woman, Life, Freedom" - the rallying cry of the protests - on walls, mostly on the subway.
From BBC • Sep. 15, 2023
One survey published in November of last year suggested public support of climate protests may dip after demonstrations such as pretending to deface art.
From National Geographic • Jul. 19, 2023
“Well, no one said not to deface the mountain.”
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
