defaces

verb

present tense third-person singular of deface
1
as in destroys
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 injures
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defaces
  1. destroys
  2. injures
  3. vandalizes
  4. damages
  5. demolishes
  6. mars
  7. trashes
  8. cripples
Verb
  • Ground-level testing often gets distorted by background emissions from surrounding soil and vegetation, while flying delicate sensors directly into corrosive plumes rapidly destroys the equipment.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
  • Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a crass and charismatic oil executive who’s called upon to help save the world after his company nearly destroys it.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 13 July 2026
Definition of destroys
Verb
  • Early on in the clip, Jake Johnson’s former tennis star Dusty Boyd trips over the net and injures his wrist in a bad way.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 23 June 2026
  • Who is responsible when a robot breaks something or injures someone?
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
Definition of injures
Verb
  • Anyone who vandalizes government property, fires guns around an ICE facility, or attacks a police officer can and should be charged with crimes.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 25 June 2026
Definition of vandalizes
Verb
  • In some diseases such as frontal lobe dementia, which damages executive function instead of memory, tangles can accumulate without the presence of amyloid.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
  • Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza wants to help make a difference for people who, like his mom, are living with multiple sclerosis, or MS, a chronic condition that attacks and damages the body’s nervous system.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026
Definition of damages
Verb
  • An $8,000 Ryvid Anthem or a $10,000 Maeving RM1S will deliver broadly similar urban usability, while the $12,500 Zero FXE absolutely demolishes it on power-per-dollar.
    — Utkarsh Sood June 12, New Atlas, 12 June 2026
  • The latest filing demolishes the timeworn claim that DOGE was infiltrated into Social Security in order to responsibly ferret out fraud and overspending.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Definition of demolishes
Verb
  • Especially the guy who bangs a wrecking ball against the historic East Wing to make room for an incongruous ballroom monstrosity, who mars the sacred Oval Office with gold glitter and paves over the lovely Rose Garden.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Jacob Whitehead Homophobic chant mars Mexico’s win Before the World Cup, the Mexican football federation launched a campaign that featured the heroes of the country’s 1986 World Cup side.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 June 2026
Definition of mars
Verb
  • In the video, the musician trashes an apartment, gets out of a cop car, and runs through a field at golden hour with spindly pylons in the background.
    — Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2026
  • Continue reading … FRIENDLY FIRE — Biden's own team trashes Xavier Becerra as 'embarrassment' in takedown of CA governor hopeful.
    — , FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
Definition of trashes
Verb
  • Federal illegality further cripples operations with banking and tax burdens.
    — Peter Su, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
  • In the final version of the film, Furiosa captures Dementus, cripples him, brings him back to the Citadel.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
Definition of cripples
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Defaces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defaces. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on defaces

Nglish: Translation of defaces for Spanish Speakers

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