1
as in disfigured
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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
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
Splatters of paint now dot the mural of Iryna Zarutska, the slain Ukrainian refugee, after an unknown vandal defaced the building at the corner of North Western and West Montrose avenues.
—Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
This was not one website defaced for headlines.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Mar. 2026
And in the late 1980s, after Little Saigon found official recognition, freeway and street signs directing people to the community were frequently defaced and destroyed in disapproval, Hua said.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 17 Feb. 2026
As restoration work gets underway on an East Side mural defaced with spray paint, organizers say the vandalism has only motivated them to stand up stronger for victims of police violence.
—Annasofia Scheve, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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
Splatters of paint now dot the mural of Iryna Zarutska, the slain Ukrainian refugee, after an unknown vandal defaced the building at the corner of North Western and West Montrose avenues.
—Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
This was not one website defaced for headlines.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Mar. 2026
And in the late 1980s, after Little Saigon found official recognition, freeway and street signs directing people to the community were frequently defaced and destroyed in disapproval, Hua said.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 17 Feb. 2026
As restoration work gets underway on an East Side mural defaced with spray paint, organizers say the vandalism has only motivated them to stand up stronger for victims of police violence.
—Annasofia Scheve, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Feb. 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
-
Twenty-two of those flags were vandalized in March 2025, prompting the department to replace them — and consider a more permanent memorial, the Idaho Statesman reported at the time.—
Rose Evans
April 4,
Idaho Statesman,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Ungrateful humans vandalized his black cement statue.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Along those lines, the Illinois Cannabis Equity Coalition is a nonprofit which advocates for the state’s legal pot program to reinvest in areas damaged by the war on drugs.—
Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The Israeli soldiers who damaged a figure of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon and photographed the incident will be removed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days of military detention, according to the Israeli military.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Forget the glossy card-stock mailers with distorted images, designed to make your opponent look like an ax murderer.—
Steve Bousquet,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Forget the glossy card-stock mailers with distorted images, designed to make your opponent look like an ax murderer.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
While in the region, Curiosity recently utilized its onboard Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite, built to search for compounds of the element carbon that are associated with life and investigate ways in which these compounds are generated and destroyed in the Martian ecosphere.—
Leonard David,
Space.com,
21 Apr. 2026
-
That investigation stemmed from a June 8, 1995, fire that destroyed a ValuJet DC-9 on a runway at Atlanta.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But her career has been marred by high-profile incidents — including being photographed in 2007 with a freshly shaven head hitting a car with an umbrella.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Sunday’s vote was marred by delays in distributing electoral materials in several districts of Lima, forcing authorities to extend voting into Monday.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Nicola said three of the four turkeys were rescue animals with deformed feet that had been sitting on eggs when they were taken.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Central Park, for instance, has been reduced to a small, deformed square.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defaced. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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