1
as in to vandalize
to deliberately cause the damage or destruction of another's property
the principal vowed to get the punks who defaced the statue in front of the school
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to injure
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
years of wear had defaced the fine engraving on the coins
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in vandalism
deliberate damaging or destroying of another's property
the defacement of the school's property ended up costing hundreds of dollars
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deface
Larry Neumeister, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
One very analog cost robotics companies are now dealing with as their products proliferate in the wild is repair fees for robots who have been kicked, ridden on, or otherwise defaced, Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani tells Semafor.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Gabriele Regalbuto, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2025
After a while, sticky notes appear, written by someone else who’s not exactly pleased about the doodler’s defacement of the only astronomy reference work in the school library.
—Caroline Carlson, Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deface
Verb
Another admonishes participants not to urinate in the street, start fights, block streets, climb on cars or deface property — all things that have been problems some years.
—Larry Neumeister, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
One very analog cost robotics companies are now dealing with as their products proliferate in the wild is repair fees for robots who have been kicked, ridden on, or otherwise defaced, Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani tells Semafor.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Noun
Palombo learned of the complete defacement through private messages on his social media channels.
—Gabriele Regalbuto, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2025
After a while, sticky notes appear, written by someone else who’s not exactly pleased about the doodler’s defacement of the only astronomy reference work in the school library.
—Caroline Carlson, Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deface
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deface
Verb
-
Additionally, Acker's law office in Southfield was vandalized that summer.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The charges include felony counts of making criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon involving a motor vehicle on March 19, and vandalizing Buckingham’s Mercedes-Benz S450 the same day.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Police said the driver of the SUV was not injured and is cooperating with investigators.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Joshua Jahn, 29, killed a detainee, injured two others and fatally shot himself.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Residents claim that gun violence, vandalism and break-ins have increased.—
Chevall Pryce,
Baltimore Sun,
29 Apr. 2026
-
In its 2025 report, researchers at the ADL documented 9,354 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism across the country in 2024 − a 5% increase from 2023, which was also a record-breaking year.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Thankfully, the Dark Sky movement is growing as more people become aware of the issue and learn about simple and cost-effective ways that can be embraced to reverse the course of destroying our night skies.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Radioactive clouds spread, causing panic as far away as Germany and Britain; millions of litres of milk were dumped; livestock was destroyed or banned from sale.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Driving through deep water can also damage a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Data from the German Aerospace Center, which analyzes global development, cross-referenced with images from ICEYE and Vantor show that buildings making up the peripheries of the cities damaged by this year’s fires mostly sprang up in the 2000s and 2010s.—
Stefano Pozzebon,
CNN Money,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Riverside has both a community center named for Chavez and a bronze statue — often the target of vandalization — on the Main Street pedestrian mall in the city’s downtown.—
Ryan Carter,
Daily News,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Police said officers from the 116th Precinct had been alerted to the vandalization in the neighborhood and found 11 different police vehicles, both marked and unmarked, with damage.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
13 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
After six years of plans to redevelop the shuttered MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, the owners would like to demolish the building and build a data center on the property, according to city officials.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
In January, Publix closed its 40-year-old Palms store and by mid-April it was demolished to make way for a bigger, contemporary supermarket.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Morrison, whose junior season was marred by injury, has been the ringleader.—
Steve Reaven,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The park's 120th operating season, which kicked off April 3, was marred by several fights between groups of teens, culminating in three arrests.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deface.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deface. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
