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
The eighth artwork in the series, a rhino in southeast London, was confirmed on Banksy’s Instagram on Monday before being defaced by a hooded man.
—
The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 13 Aug. 2024
Video surveillance caught them defacing two homes — that of Anne Pasternak and Kimberly Panicek Trueblood, the president and chief operating officer of the Brooklyn museum.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 2 Aug. 2024
Bad behavior: Entitled tourists are running amok, defacing the Colosseum, getting rowdy in Bali and messing with wild animals in national parks.
—Hannah Sampson, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
Police are searching for a vandal who defaced an Upper East Side synagogue in a potential hate crime — scrawling a demonic red eye symbol on the building’s steps.
—Sheetal Banchariya, New York Daily News, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for deface 
The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 13 Aug. 2024
Video surveillance caught them defacing two homes — that of Anne Pasternak and Kimberly Panicek Trueblood, the president and chief operating officer of the Brooklyn museum.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 2 Aug. 2024
Bad behavior: Entitled tourists are running amok, defacing the Colosseum, getting rowdy in Bali and messing with wild animals in national parks.
—Hannah Sampson, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
Police are searching for a vandal who defaced an Upper East Side synagogue in a potential hate crime — scrawling a demonic red eye symbol on the building’s steps.
—Sheetal Banchariya, New York Daily News, 23 July 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 7 Sep. 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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