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
Relevance
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
Verb
-
An agent that cannot reliably query real-time pricing and inventory, or that cannot preserve brand logic through a checkout flow, destroys the value that luxury merchants have spent decades building.—
Josipa Majic Predin,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026 -
April freeze destroys crops Early on the morning of April 21, temperatures in Maryland dropped into the low 20s after weeks of unseasonably warm weather.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Who is responsible when a robot breaks something or injures someone?—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
-
This storyline later appeared in the second season of Girls, as Dunham’s character Hannah is overwhelmed with the anxiety of writing a novel and similarly injures herself.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
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
Verb
-
Dana Sue and Ronnie's strained relationship is exasperated by a fire that breaks out — accelerated by off-brand e-bikes Ronnie bought behind Dana Sue’s back and stored in their garage — and damages their house.—
Francesca Gariano,
PEOPLE,
13 June 2026
-
Roslovic’s poor playoff showing severely damages his chances of earning an extension with the Oilers for next season and of a sizable deal elsewhere.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Continue reading … FRIENDLY FIRE — Biden's own team trashes Xavier Becerra as 'embarrassment' in takedown of CA governor hopeful.—
,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
However, special considerations must be made for a brontosaurus who trashes London in the climax of the 1925 silent film The Lost World.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
No sadness mars the purity of its paranoia.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
-
However, an earnestness mars most of the proceedings.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Three Lions retake the lead 2-1 in the 43rd minute after Harry Kane smashes a header from Declan Rice in the net off a set piece.—
Jim Barnes,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 June 2026
-
Then the climax subsides for a lovely coda of strings, accompanied by a denouement in which the now casually clad, contemporary-looking singer smashes up her play set in the apartment where she’s presumably been brooding over all this stuff.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
In the final version of the film, Furiosa captures Dementus, cripples him, brings him back to the Citadel.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
17 June 2026
-
The author takes an overnight Amtrak journey instead of a flight to Washington as the government shutdown cripples Atlanta’s airport.—
Bill Barrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Defaces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defaces. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
