defaced; defacing; defaces
1
: to mar the appearance of : injure by effacing significant details
deface an inscription
2
: impair
3
obsolete
: destroy
defacer
noun
Examples of deface in a Sentence
The building was defaced with graffiti.
He was fined for defacing public property.
Recent Examples on the Web
At one point, she’s shown defacing her mother’s sign with red paint before slicing it with a knife.
—
Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 12 July 2024
Thevenot, a candidate for reelection from Macron’s Renaissance party, was in her constituency in the Parisian suburbs with members of her team when the group came under attack after attempting to stop a group of youths from defacing posters.
—Niamh Kennedy, CNN, 4 July 2024
The portrait, created by artist Jonathan Yeo and unveiled last month, was defaced by Animal Rising, an animal rights group that took responsibility for the action in a video posted Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 11 June 2024
Sadly, the recent attack on items of veneration at St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, where statues of Mother Teresa and Pope John XXIII were defaced with a hammer, highlights the double standard of outrage by city and state officials when crimes target the Catholic community.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for deface 
Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 12 July 2024
Thevenot, a candidate for reelection from Macron’s Renaissance party, was in her constituency in the Parisian suburbs with members of her team when the group came under attack after attempting to stop a group of youths from defacing posters.
—Niamh Kennedy, CNN, 4 July 2024
The portrait, created by artist Jonathan Yeo and unveiled last month, was defaced by Animal Rising, an animal rights group that took responsibility for the action in a video posted Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 11 June 2024
Sadly, the recent attack on items of veneration at St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, where statues of Mother Teresa and Pope John XXIII were defaced with a hammer, highlights the double standard of outrage by city and state officials when crimes target the Catholic community.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for deface
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deface.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near deface
Cite this Entry
“Deface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deface. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
deface
transitive verb
de·face
di-ˈfās 
defaced; defacing
: to destroy or mar the face or surface of
defacement
noun
defacer
noun
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