1
as in disfigured
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2
as in mutilated
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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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of defaced
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
Internet users are obsessed with how a realtor responded in the best way to his advertisement getting defaced.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
This incident was the second time the controversial mural was defaced.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Last summer, Zeevi, who owns an HVAC company in San Jose, told KTVU that the vans at his shop were defaced with swastikas.
—Lucy Hodgman, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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
Internet users are obsessed with how a realtor responded in the best way to his advertisement getting defaced.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
This incident was the second time the controversial mural was defaced.
—Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Last summer, Zeevi, who owns an HVAC company in San Jose, told KTVU that the vans at his shop were defaced with swastikas.
—Lucy Hodgman, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 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.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The bodies had signs of binding the hands and feet, contortion of limbs, cut off fingertips and disfigured heads, according to Kaki.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
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.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
-
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.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Police are investigating after the Jewish Community Center of Greater Ann Arbor in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was vandalized with antisemitic symbols, officials said on Saturday morning.—
Nick Lentz,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
-
The store was vandalized later that night.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
René Magritte’s The Castle of the Pyrenees (1959) has gone to the conservation lab at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem after being accidentally damaged by a young museum visitor.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
9 June 2026
-
About 2,500 houses and 117 government buildings and facilities were damaged in several provinces, according to an initial government damage assessment.—
Jim Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
The strange fruits of Koosha’s process premiered Wednesday night at the Tribeca Festival in New York — a work that was just another indie film on one hand but also a glimpse at the distorted mirror of film’s future on the other.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
11 June 2026
-
Sensitive plants may show leaf curling, distorted growth, discoloration, or even die from exposure to very small amounts of herbicide.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Sampaio rushed over to the mangled car and managed to free the unconscious man in the driver’s seat.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
2 June 2026
-
An accompanying photograph dated May 30th shows a mangled, banana-less strip of duct tape stuck to a white wall.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
The current San Geronimo Chapel was built in 1850 to replace a church destroyed in the Mexican American War.—
Alia Beard Rau,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
-
The video and the SCE data offer proof that the 100-year-old line, which hadn’t been used since the early 1970s, became re-electrified and sparked the fire that killed 19 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena and surrounding areas, attorneys say.—
Tony Saavedra,
Daily News,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street announced Tuesday that the 2026 Downtown Days festival will be its last, citing safety concerns after fights, assaults and property damage marred Saturday evening’s event.—
Ian Cummings,
Kansas City Star,
11 June 2026
-
The March 22 election was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defaced. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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