deface 1 of 2

verb

di-ˈfās How to pronounce deface (audio)
Definition of defacenext
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

Relevance

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

defacement

2 of 2

noun

as in vandalism
deliberate damaging or destroying of another's property the defacement of the school's property ended up costing hundreds of dollars

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deface
Verb
The building's pine ceilings were in disrepair and its brick walls were damaged, poorly painted, or defaced with graffiti. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026 SpaceX now has the dubious honor of being the first company to deface the moon, after a piece of one of its rockets crashed into Earth’s only natural satellite earlier this month. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026
Noun
Regardless, following the Roonstrasse defacement, a wave of additional antisemitic vandalism spread throughout West Germany and other places, including the United States. — Daniela R. P. Weiner, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2026 This can include denial-of-service attacks, in which hackers try to jam a network so legitimate users cannot use it, and website defacements, which can prevent a company from communicating with customers. — ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for deface
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deface
  1. vandalize
  2. injure
  3. destroy
  4. damage
  5. demolish
  6. mar
  7. ruin
  8. cripple
Verb
  • Shops were looted in Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lyon and other cities, while public buildings were vandalized or targeted by fires.
    — Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Government buildings were vandalized in multiple cities, contributing to a sense of national crisis that could boost leading far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen six months before elections.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of vandalize
Verb
  • At least one person died and more than a dozen were injured in a major Ukrainian drone strike yesterday on Saint Petersburg, Russia's former imperial capital.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Continue reading … NATION IN MOURNING — Canadian service members killed, 19 critically injured after fire rips through base.
    — , FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of injure
Verb
  • Cities outside Paris have been hit hard by the unrest, including Limoges where a fire nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Animal diseases also threaten our economy and food system, destroying more than 20% of global livestock production each year.
    — Robert Kelly, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroy
Verb
  • Rioters burned close to 6,000 vehicles and damaged over 1,000 buildings.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026
  • What that young girl saw damaged and scarred her heart; one wonders why the happy adults around her could not see the ugliness inherent in killing a fellow human being.
    — Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of damage
Verb
  • The building’s owner previously told The Star the building would not be demolished and that it could be redeveloped.
    — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The 18-year-old female elephant got loose from her handler outside her enclosure, then went on the run, demolishing the door of a saloon on North Avenue, smashing in the window of another and walking through the fence around a vacant lot.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of demolish
Verb
  • Mass protests in France are often marred by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • There were also parts that were not as successful — mainly the parts marred by his physical unreadiness.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mar
Verb
  • Burdick seemed to have drawn directly from McCarthy’s experience, the hopelessness of fighting with his father over a world his father had already ruined, the surrender to indulgence and mindless violence because…why not?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Each room is also outfitted with a Yale smart lock, which means there’s no room for that horrible feeling of losing a room key to ruin your vacation.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruin
Verb
  • Over the past month, Russia has been intensifying its strikes against civilian and energy infrastructure to try to cripple the power grid before the brutal Ukrainian winter.
    — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • According to official figures, even when the thermometer plummets to minus 22 °F (-30 °C), a situation that cripples most electric vehicles, the Atto 8 can still execute a 20 % to 97% charge in just 12 minutes.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of cripple

Browse Nearby Words

def
deface
defaced
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Deface.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deface. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of asunder

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All