disfigure
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disfigures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disfigured,
past participle, past
-
disfiguring
present participle
verb
-
to spoil the appearance or shape of; deface
-
to mar the effect or quality of
Synonym Usage
See mar.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disfiguresimple
-
disfiguressimple
-
have disfiguredperfect
-
has disfiguredperfect
-
am disfiguringprogressive
-
are disfiguringprogressive
-
is disfiguringprogressive
-
have been disfiguringperfect progressive
-
has been disfiguringperfect progressive
Past
-
disfiguredsimple
-
had disfiguredperfect
-
was disfiguringprogressive
-
were disfiguringprogressive
-
had been disfiguringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disfigure
1325–75; Middle English disfiguren < Anglo-French, Old French desfigurer, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + -figurer, verbal derivative of figure figure
Explanation
To disfigure something is to ruin its appearance, which is what would happen if you drew a big bushy mustache and a pair of antennae on the Mona Lisa. Unfortunately, disfigured people are almost always portrayed in the media as villains, or victims. The word does suggest a negative view of someone (after all, it doesn't just mean changing way something looks but specifically spoiling it). Organizations for disfigured people, however, like Changing Faces in England, have claimed the word as their own and use it proudly.
Vocabulary lists containing disfigure
Unit 1: Telling Details
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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"Wild Animals Aren't Pets" and "Let People Own Exotic Animals"
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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.
See Examples For:
So, they spent the night outside, on the street - one more family with war wounds that cannot be seen but will disfigure a generation.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
If a monster like their father can disfigure God, doesn’t his existence pose a threat to a world already under siege?
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
Repeated removal of the tendrils is needed, too, so they don’t disfigure the flowers or stems.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
He practiced the stunt five times at home, he said, and was convinced it would not disfigure the painting.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2022
He soon experienced the first shooting pains from the severe arthritis that would grotesquely disfigure his body.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
A droll moment of introspection is offered when Gordon disfigures his face with tape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026
Ms. Robbie has it easier, thanks to her character’s inherent theatricality—this Elizabeth is a great beauty until smallpox disfigures her face.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2018
It also raises concerns about epizootic shell disease, which disfigures lobsters to the point that they can’t be sold.
From Washington Times ● May 13, 2018
An orange smear of paint disfigures the walkway next to a garden bench.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2018
So science is aloof, and in being aloof it disfigures and defaces reality, and the argument for agnosticism is consequently unassailable.
From The Will to Doubt An essay in philosophy for the general thinker by Alfred H. Lloyd
Some bodies are so disfigured, Poudel added, "that often it is difficult to say if it's a man or woman".
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
Here was the city’s historic souk, now a disfigured maw of masonry and rebar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Ms. Kobza’s opening chapters are disfigured by the melted wax of academic cant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
“Masquerade” follows the point of view of the Phantom, a disfigured musical genius who lives below the Paris Opera House and is obsessed with singer Christine Daaé.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
Ucho’s nose wasn’t nearly as horrid to look upon as my disfigured face.
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
She spent nearly a quarter-century as a recluse, having suffered in 1997 a shocking and disfiguring accident while striking a match to light her Tiparillo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
And he grew that beard—initially to hide disfiguring dental surgery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
The first patient to receive facial scanning and burn mask treatment, after the 14-month period when Qaradaya’s rehab team was helpless to treat disfiguring facial burns, was a two-year-old child.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2025
An aspiring actor with a disfiguring facial condition has a radical medical procedure, drastically transforming his appearance.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2024
In Europe, Asia, and Africa smallpox became a constant, terrible presence, infecting almost every child, killing many and leaving others with the disfiguring pockmarks that are its telltale sign.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
