Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

deface

[dih-feys]
See more synonyms for deface on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), de·faced, de·fac·ing.
  1. to mar the surface or appearance of; disfigure: to deface a wall by writing on it.
  2. to efface, obliterate, or injure the surface of, as to make illegible or invalid: to deface a bond.
Show More

Origin of deface

1275–1325; Middle English defacen < Old French desfacier, equivalent to des- dis-1 + facier (face face + -ier infinitive suffix)
Related formsde·face·a·ble, adjectivede·face·ment, nounde·fac·er, nounun·de·face·a·ble, adjectiveun·de·faced, adjective

Synonyms for deface

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
1. spoil. See mar.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for deface

vandalize, obliterate, demolish, sully, harm, blemish, disfigure, injure, tarnish, scratch, ruin, wreck, damage, distort, impair, contort, spoil, destroy, trash, mangle

Examples from the Web for deface

Contemporary Examples of deface

Historical Examples of deface

British Dictionary definitions for deface

deface

verb
  1. (tr) to spoil or mar the surface, legibility, or appearance of; disfigure
Show More
Derived Formsdefaceable, adjectivedefacement, noundefacer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deface

v.

mid-14c., "to obliterate," from Old French desfacier "mutilate, destroy, disfigure," from des- "away from" (see dis-) + Vulgar Latin *facia (see face (n.)). Weaker sense of "to mar, make ugly" is late 14c. in English. Related: Defaced; defacing.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper