deface
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to mar the surface or appearance of; disfigure.
to deface a wall by writing on it.
- Synonyms:
- spoil
-
to efface, obliterate, or injure the surface of, as to make illegible or invalid.
to deface a bond.
verb
Related Words
See mar.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deface
1275–1325; Middle English defacen, from Old French desfacier, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + facier ( face face + -ier infinitive suffix)
Explanation
If you deface something, you've blemished or disfigured it in some way. For example, graffiti can deface a statue. To deface something means to damage it or just mess up its appearance. And sometimes it’s both: Throwing a cup of coffee on a valuable painting ruins the face of the painting, so we say it's been defaced. Drawing a mustache on a painting is another way to deface it. What did the Mona Lisa say to the museum visitor holding a marker? “Don’t mess up deface!”
Vocabulary lists containing deface
Hoot
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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Swing
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On Monday, Colbert had commented an interview between John Dickerson of CBS' "Face the Nation" and Trump, during which the latter referred to the network's long-running show as "Deface the Nation."
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2017
Deface, de-fās′, v.t. to destroy or mar the face or external appearance of, to disfigure: to obliterate.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Deface, Disfigure "The walls of many public buildings are defaced by persons who desire that their names shall remain when they are gone."
From Slips of Speech : a Helpful Book for Everyone Who Aspires to Correct the Everyday Errors of Speaking by Bechtel, John Hendricks
Deface a silver dollar and fifty cents of its value goes off yonder among the silent stars.
From Modern Eloquence: Vol II, After-Dinner Speeches E-O by Reed, Thomas B. (Thomas Brackett)
Must they, that rear'd her stately temples up, Deface the sacred places of their gods?
From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 7 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
