1
as in to vandalize
to deliberately cause the damage or destruction of another's property
the principal vowed to get the punks who defaced the statue in front of the school
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to injure
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
years of wear had defaced the fine engraving on the coins
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deface
In 2010, a man was sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined $10,000 for intentionally defacing carvings at Lake Mead, according to the city.
—
Hannah Dreyfus, AZCentral.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Someone had defaced it overnight with paper cutouts and red paint.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
The Greenwich Village apartment building of New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn was defaced with red paint and graffiti in the early hours of Friday morning.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
Extremist groups use attacks to disinform, damage or deface sites.
—Carlos Morales, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deface
Hannah Dreyfus, AZCentral.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Someone had defaced it overnight with paper cutouts and red paint.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
The Greenwich Village apartment building of New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn was defaced with red paint and graffiti in the early hours of Friday morning.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
Extremist groups use attacks to disinform, damage or deface sites.
—Carlos Morales, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deface
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deface
Verb
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Rioters breached the Senate and House chambers, vandalized offices, and threatened lawmakers, leading to five deaths and dozens of injuries.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
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Weeks after her contract was not renewed in February, Batie-Smoose's home in Scotts Valley, California, was vandalized in a shooting.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Police in England said one of the two Jewish community members killed and one of the victims injured during an attack at a synagogue on Yom Kippur are now believed to have been struck by police gunfire as officers tried to stop the attacker.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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The kids associate helicopters with life flights to the local hospital, a sign that someone has been seriously injured, Cornelison said.—
John Wisely,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a five-floor apartment building in the Solomyanskyi district was partially destroyed and caught fire.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
28 Sep. 2025
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Mexico built a hydroelectric dam, where these golden barrel cactuses live and in an instant their environment was destroyed and this species was almost wiped out.—
Eyder Peralta,
NPR,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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According to Greenpeace's analysis, Russia has also completed construction of a new water supply system for the plant's cooling pond and deliberately damaged a 750-kilovolt power line that had connected the facility to Ukraine's electrical grid.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Sep. 2025
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Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged in the Solomianskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Holosiivskyi, Darnytskyi, and Dniprovskyi districts.—
Emma Marsden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Of the 27 homes on their street in the Rollins neighborhood, 25 were either destroyed, demolished or suffered extensive damage that left them unlivable until they could be gutted and rebuilt, Heath said.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
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While the tower still exists and houses seniors, the cottages were demolished to make way for a mixed-income development.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Sandu’s reelection came amidst an election that was laced with allegations of Russian interference and was marred by fake bomb threats.—
Rajeev Tyagi,
ABC News,
29 Sep. 2025
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Unfortunately for the Giants, this win was marred by a devastating injury for superstar second-year wide receiver Malik Nabers.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
30 Sep. 2025
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The jerky in particular has ruined me for all other beef jerky—so be forewarned the same might happen to you.—
Alaina Chou,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Such a finding could’ve crippled the operations of Google, Meta and X, among various others.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Sep. 2025
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Given the right series of chances, players could potentially construct a build that blasts thunder and chains together static strikes that will cripple entire rooms of foes at once.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deface.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deface. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
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