as in damaging
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the statue was seriously disfigured by falling rubble during the earthquake
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Recent Examples of disfiguring
The flames claimed the girls as collateral, scarring both of them but disfiguring Anaia, who worked the hardest to save Ruby.
—
Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
The disfiguring bulge in Dinah’s lower face went away.
—Stephen King, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
The trouble is, the new growth is highly susceptible to a disfiguring disease called Entomosporium leaf spot.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
Hollenbeck and Watkins were reacting to the news outlets’ series, which examined allegations of disfiguring injuries or even deaths tied to cosmetic surgeries.
—Fred Schulte, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
Many patients who file lawsuits blame disfiguring injuries on what happened after their operations, such as office visits in which medical staff allegedly didn’t recognize, or dismissed, evidence of worsening surgical complications, court records show.
—Fred Schulte, Miami Herald, 30 Dec. 2025
His body had been subjected to disfiguring violence—not just beaten but run over repeatedly with his own car and partially burned—and many suspected a Mafia-style revenge killing.
—Literary Hub, 18 Dec. 2025
Outdoor turkey frying fires and in-door kitchen stove fires can send residents to the emergency room with disfiguring injuries that often require skin grafting, said Patrick Duffy, burn surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
—Beth Warren, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Nov. 2025
Though confused by their new reality in the spirit world, the teenagers willingly decide to carry on as they are accosted by a series of demons such as doctors disfiguring patients, human traffickers, and being plagued by war and terrorism.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 15 Nov. 2025
Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
The disfiguring bulge in Dinah’s lower face went away.
—Stephen King, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
The trouble is, the new growth is highly susceptible to a disfiguring disease called Entomosporium leaf spot.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
Hollenbeck and Watkins were reacting to the news outlets’ series, which examined allegations of disfiguring injuries or even deaths tied to cosmetic surgeries.
—Fred Schulte, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
Many patients who file lawsuits blame disfiguring injuries on what happened after their operations, such as office visits in which medical staff allegedly didn’t recognize, or dismissed, evidence of worsening surgical complications, court records show.
—Fred Schulte, Miami Herald, 30 Dec. 2025
His body had been subjected to disfiguring violence—not just beaten but run over repeatedly with his own car and partially burned—and many suspected a Mafia-style revenge killing.
—Literary Hub, 18 Dec. 2025
Outdoor turkey frying fires and in-door kitchen stove fires can send residents to the emergency room with disfiguring injuries that often require skin grafting, said Patrick Duffy, burn surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
—Beth Warren, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Nov. 2025
Though confused by their new reality in the spirit world, the teenagers willingly decide to carry on as they are accosted by a series of demons such as doctors disfiguring patients, human traffickers, and being plagued by war and terrorism.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 15 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disfiguring
Verb
-
Primary hazards include damaging wind gusts, locally heavy rainfall and frequent lightning strikes, with hail and a brief tornado or waterspout also possible.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 June 2026
-
Nelson is doing fine now In 2000, Nelson was diagnosed with HIV and sarcoidosis, a condition that went into remission until a severe case of Legionnaires’ disease in 2021 reactivated it, damaging both his lungs and liver.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
19 June 2026
Verb
-
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
-
In Strasbourg, groups of Palace supporters clashed among themselves in a square in the city centre, marring the occasion.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Verb
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History shows democratic societies periodically require moral correction when economic systems begin injuring people faster than institutions can protect them.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
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Daniella and Castro admitted to injuring a corporal officer by dislocating his shoulder, per the outlet.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Crucially, the strike targeted a critical AVT-6 distillation unit, potentially crippling the refinery's entire 12 million tons/year capacity,.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
-
The fall broke both his legs, crippling him.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disfiguring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disfiguring. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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