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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

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 defacing
Noun
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
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 Sohail faces federal charges of intentionally defacing or damaging religious real property, which carries a maximum three years behind bars. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 2 Mar. 2026 Assembly and free-speech rights would not protect defacing government property, such as barricades. — Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defacing
  1. vandalism
  2. vandalizing
  3. marring
  4. vandalization
  5. destroying
  6. damaging
  7. destruction
  8. demolishing
Noun
  • Lincoln officials say the cameras remain in place and that the department is actively investigating the vandalism.
    — Kayla Moeller, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • While Blanche didn’t cite specific incidents, Pirro’s office last week charged a Kentucky woman with vandalism for spraying the World War II memorial on the National Mall with graffiti.
    — Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of vandalism
Verb
  • Some critics have even gone as far as vandalizing the cameras.
    — Charlie De Mar, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Trump blamed the sealant issues on vandalism without providing evidence, and felony charges were brought against a former Olympic canoeist, David Hearn, after he was accused of vandalizing the pool.
    — Matthew Daly, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of vandalizing
Verb
  • To prevent a similar war from happening again, Menelaus scarred her face, permanently marring her famous beauty.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
  • Lined with live oaks and old-fashioned, busy storefronts, this artsy town on the Gulf of Mexico has no commercial development marring its shoreline.
    — Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 16 June 2026
Definition of marring
Noun
  • Riverside has both a community center named for Chavez and a bronze statue — often the target of vandalization — on the Main Street pedestrian mall in the city’s downtown.
    — Ryan Carter, Daily News, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Police said officers from the 116th Precinct had been alerted to the vandalization in the neighborhood and found 11 different police vehicles, both marked and unmarked, with damage.
    — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Definition of vandalization
Verb
  • The show was filmed across Northern Ireland, and the weather proved to be brutal, with the rain constantly destroying sets that had to be rebuilt.
    — Matt Minton, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The Ukrainian defenders repelled the attack and posted video footage of their kamikaze drone strikes destroying at least seven T-72B3A tanks, including some that carried the Arena-M system, according to Euromaidan Press.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • The strikes hit 12 locations across Kyiv’s Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, damaging residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Oracle, for its part, argues that Project Jupiter will create massive investment for the region without damaging the environment.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of damaging
Noun
  • Despite the destruction, officials said no injuries had been reported in the city.
    — Ross DiMattei, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Her home was not damaged during the back-to-back hurricanes that hit Florida in 2024, but many people close to her experienced flooding and other destruction to their homes, businesses and schools.
    — Jessica Meszaros, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of destruction
Verb
  • Trump has faced widespread criticism for demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make room for the grand ballroom design.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Despite being identified decades ago, the exact trigger of the joint-demolishing condition is still unclear.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
Definition of demolishing

Browse Nearby Words

defaces
defacing
de facto
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Defacing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defacing. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on defacing

Nglish: Translation of defacing for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of august

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All