Synonyms of defacing

defacing 1 of 2

noun

as in vandalism

deliberate damaging or destroying of another's property

the neo-Nazis' defacing of the synagogue was condemned by the entire community

Synonyms & Similar Words

• vandalism
• vandalization
• destruction
• defacement
• trashing
• wrecking
• desecration
• demolishing
• sabotage
• ruin
• desecrating
• ravaging
• ruination
• ravage
• plundering
• looting
• despoiling
• demolishment
• pillaging
• pillage
• plunder
• marauding
• predation
• spoliation
• depredation
• ransacking
• sacking
• despoilment

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protection
• saving
• conservation
• preservation
• salvage

defacing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of deface

1

as in vandalizing

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

• vandalizing
• destroying
• demolishing
• smashing
• ruining
• trashing
• violating
• damaging
• desecrating
• breaking
• wrecking
• marring
• shattering
• harming
• wasting
• tagging
• impairing
• sacking
• looting
• hurting
• sabotaging
• razing
• spoiling
• annihilating
• ravaging
• plundering
• despoiling
• ransacking
• wiping out
• totaling
• pillaging
• devastating
• graffitiing
• scourging
• tearing down
• marauding
• wracking
• ravening
• depredating
• banging up
• spoliating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protecting
• preserving
• saving
• building
• conserving
• rebuilding
• salvaging

2

as in marring

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

years of wear had defaced the fine engraving on the coins

Synonyms & Similar Words

• marring
• damaging
• injuring
• compromising
• hurting
• crippling
• weakening
• destroying
• breaking
• eroding
• spoiling
• impairing
• harming
• disfiguring
• undermining
• ruining
• vitiating
• crossing (up)
• bloodying
• blemishing
• shattering
• crabbing
• deteriorating
• wounding
• battering
• demolishing
• wrecking
• flawing
• tarnishing
• scouring
• denting
• blighting
• endamaging
• smashing
• wearing (away)
• mutilating
• torturing
• enervating
• disabling
• enfeebling
• razing
• wasting
• maiming
• mangling
• washing out
• crushing
• annihilating
• tormenting
• botching
• devastating
• lacerating
• pulverizing
• queering
• decimating
• bashing
• clobbering
• hamstringing
• dinging
• wiping out
• scourging
• gumming (up)
• totaling
• dashing
• dinting
• laming
• tearing down
• doing in
• desolating
• banging up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repairing
• rebuilding
• fixing
• reconstructing
• renovating
• revamping
• helping
• patching
• reconditioning
• rehabilitating
• mending
• healing
• curing
• remedying
• rectifying
• revising
• improving
• doctoring
• remodeling
• editing
• enhancing
• perfecting
• enriching
• refining
• ameliorating
• bettering
• meliorating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of defacing

Noun

The Administration’s tactics have reminded her of recent malicious acts in France tied to Russian operatives, such as the defacing of a Holocaust memorial with bloody handprints and the planting of a pig’s head outside a mosque. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026

The investigation into the racist defacing of the black professors’ portraits at Harvard Law School in 2015 continues into an eleventh year with no resolution and no suspects. — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 31 Dec. 2025

Verb

Nationwide, vandals have filmed themselves on social media damaging or defacing Flock cameras. — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Over the weekend, ShinyHunters boasted about hijacking and defacing CLOP’s site on the dark web with an image of a Pokémon. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026

Trump, in one of his Truth Social posts, cited laws against defacing monuments as grounds for imprisoning anyone harming the pool. — Nathan Ellgren, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026

Two men from Germany were arrested after being accused of defacing a pride bench in Miami Beach with antisemitic symbols on Monday. — Steven Yablonski, CBS News, 19 May 2026

No one in Florida had been charged with criminal mischief for defacing a traffic control device until the August arrests. — Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026

An inflatable effigy depicting Trump defacing the Constitution made its way through the crowd. — Nik Popli, Time, 28 Mar. 2026

This exclusion protects the home warranty company from homeowners who may try to get replacements for appliances or home system components by defacing or damaging them purposefully. — Dan Simms, USA Today, 23 Mar. 2026

Denilson Pires was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and defacing a firearm serial number. — Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 10 Mar. 2026