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.
She’s an aesthete run amok, determined to deface anything that doesn’t live up to her impossible standards.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026
He even intends to deface the entire White House complex with a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, Versailles as reimagined by Tony Soprano.
From Salon • Aug. 9, 2025
“This way it is not possible to deface or remove them,” Tsadik said.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 31, 2023
One survey published in November of last year suggested public support of climate protests may dip after demonstrations such as pretending to deface art.
From National Geographic • Jul. 19, 2023
One neighbor trained his dog to deface Patterson’s property.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
