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deface

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deface

  • /dɪˈfeɪs/
  • /diːˈfeɪs/

Rhymes with -eɪs

Where it comes from

From Middle English defacen, from Old French defacier, desfacier (“to mutilate, destroy, disfigure”), from des- (“away from”) (see dis-) + Late Latin facia.

verb defaces · defacing · defaced

  1. To damage or vandalize something, especially a surface, in a visible or conspicuous manner. 1869: George Eliot, The Legend of Jubal That wondrous frame where melody began / Lay as a tomb defaced that no eye cared to scan.

    Similar: disfigure, mar, obliterate, scar, vandalize

  2. To void or devalue; to nullify or degrade the face value of. He defaced the I.O.U. notes by scrawling "void" over them.

    Similar: cancel, devalue, nullify, void

  3. To alter a coat of arms or a flag by adding an element to it. You get the Finnish state flag by defacing the national flag with the state coat of arms placed in the middle of the cross.

Similar: befoul, besmirch, blemish, blight, contaminate, contort, damage, deface, defame, defile, deform, demolish, destroy, destruct, devastate, dilapidate, disgrace, distort, harm, impair, injure, maim, mangle, mutilate, pollute, ruin, scath, scathe, scratch, shend · Opposite: beautify, fix, rectify

Thesaurus

verb

Similar: befoul, besmirch, blemish, blight, contaminate, contort, damage, deface, defame, defile, deform, demolish, destroy, destruct, devastate, dilapidate, disgrace, distort, harm, impair, injure, maim, mangle, mutilate, pollute, ruin, scath, scathe, scratch, shend · Opposite: beautify, fix, rectify

Translations

Every language

verb to damage

Españolpintarrajear
Portuguêsdesfigurar
Françaisdéfigurer, dégrader
Deutschverunstalten, entstellen
Italianosfregiare

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MLA

"deface." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/deface. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

deface. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/deface

Chicago

"deface." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/deface.

BibTeX
@misc{deface_2026,
  title = {deface},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/deface},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}