deface

[dih-feys]

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verb (used with object), de·faced, de·fac·ing.

to mar the surface or appearance of; disfigure: to deface a wall by writing on it.
to efface, obliterate, or injure the surface of, as to make illegible or invalid: to deface a bond.

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

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1. spoil. See mar.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for defacement

impairment, disfigurement, vandalism

Examples from the Web for defacement

Historical Examples of defacement

One of the islanders might chance to observe the defacement of the tomb.
Tongues of Conscience
Robert Smythe Hichens
They are never disfigured with vile language or other defacement.
Farm Boys and Girls
William Arch McKeever
It was its extreme hardness that saved it from destruction and defacement.
Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland
T. O. Russell
Val knew it in a moment, in spite of its marks of defacement.
Elster's Folly
Mrs. Henry Wood
The idea that the chiefs who erected these monuments were the authors of their defacement is too absurd for serious consideration.
The Ancient Cities of the New World
Dsir Charnay

British Dictionary definitions for defacement

deface

verb

(tr) to spoil or mar the surface, legibility, or appearance of; disfigure

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 defacement

1560s, from deface + -ment.

deface

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.