1
as in disfigured
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Dissimilar Words
2
as in mutilated
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in vandalized
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
years of wear had defaced the fine engraving on the coins
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defaced
Ann Manov,
Harpers Magazine,
23 June 2026
That was the last time the sign was defaced.
—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
The cemetery, created in 1859, was abandoned and defaced before becoming the property of the county in 1967.
—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
4 June 2026
At least three campaign signs for Sacramento City Council candidate Jenn Chawla were defaced with racist slurs over the weekend.
—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
18 May 2026
In Australia, synagogues were firebombed, cars torched and Jewish community buildings defaced – the types of attacks recently seen in the United Kingdom that have prompted calls for a crackdown on antisemitism.
—
Cnn.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
But then on Christmas Day of that year, Roonstrasse was defaced with antisemitic graffiti.
—
Daniela R. P. Weiner,
The Conversation,
17 Apr. 2026
One very analog cost robotics companies are now dealing with as their products proliferate in the wild is repair fees for robots who have been kicked, ridden on, or otherwise defaced, Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani tells Semafor.
—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
1 Apr. 2026
But his image had been defaced with black permanent marker, giving him an impressive handlebar mustache and large glasses with what appears to be eyelashes growing out from them.
—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
No patriots so defaced America as those who, in the name of Americanism, launched a witch hunt that became a byword around the world.
—
Ann Manov,
Harpers Magazine,
23 June 2026
That was the last time the sign was defaced.
—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
The cemetery, created in 1859, was abandoned and defaced before becoming the property of the county in 1967.
—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
4 June 2026
At least three campaign signs for Sacramento City Council candidate Jenn Chawla were defaced with racist slurs over the weekend.
—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
18 May 2026
In Australia, synagogues were firebombed, cars torched and Jewish community buildings defaced – the types of attacks recently seen in the United Kingdom that have prompted calls for a crackdown on antisemitism.
—
Cnn.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
But then on Christmas Day of that year, Roonstrasse was defaced with antisemitic graffiti.
—
Daniela R. P. Weiner,
The Conversation,
17 Apr. 2026
One very analog cost robotics companies are now dealing with as their products proliferate in the wild is repair fees for robots who have been kicked, ridden on, or otherwise defaced, Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani tells Semafor.
—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
1 Apr. 2026
But his image had been defaced with black permanent marker, giving him an impressive handlebar mustache and large glasses with what appears to be eyelashes growing out from them.
—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defaced
Adjective
-
In a particularly gnarly flashback, one sibling voluntarily — and crudely — amputates his fingers to match his brother's disfigured hand, which lost two digits when Angier shot him.
-
The bodies had signs of binding the hands and feet, contortion of limbs, cut off fingertips and disfigured heads, according to Kaki.
Adjective
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According to the Times coverage of the incident and subsequent lawsuit, the scenes shown in the classroom included autopsies, decaying cadavers and live animals being butchered, mutilated and tortured.
-
But the most difficult parts also offer ways forward — news that arrives via a skull, a mutilated body, evidence of closure in many respects of the word.
Verb
-
Acker's law office in Southfield was also vandalized that summer.
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The mayhem saw scores of arrests, five school buses vandalized or set afire and multiple NYPD cops assaulted.
Verb
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Joshua Serad, of Maple Shade, stole and damaged Pride flags Monday in the business district of Haddonfield on Kings Highway, according to police.
-
Flying bricks damaged the crossing’s signal arms, and the crossing was closed by Union Pacific.
Adjective
-
Through a slurry of distorted guitars and deadpan singing, the album brushes against grief, addiction, and abandonment through a layer of gauzy nonchalance.
-
Latvian intelligence argues that Putin is not only looking for ways to pressure NATO countries to back off Ukraine, but may also be receiving distorted assessments from inside his own system — raising the risk that Russia could misjudge Western resolve.
Adjective
-
Sanctions relief will help, but who exactly will want to invest in a country whose government is sustained by brutality and ruled according to the whims of a junta led by a mangled religious fanatic?
-
Sampaio rushed over to the mangled car and managed to free the unconscious man in the driver’s seat.
Verb
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The second inferno killed 12 people, destroyed 6,500 structures across the Palisades and Malibu and cost billions in damage and insurance claims.
-
In Paradise, California, a community destroyed by wildfire adopted the ‘Wildfire Prepared Home Standard’ as its mandatory rebuilding benchmark.
Verb
-
Starmer is leaving after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.
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What immediately followed that bright June day were dark months marred by the state’s largest criminal investigation in history coming up empty, police questioning second graders for new leads and mounting legal battles among the Horman family grappling with utter devastation.
Cite this Entry
“Defaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defaced. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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