defaced; defacing; defaces
1
: to mar the appearance of : injure by effacing significant details
deface an inscription
2
: impair
3
obsolete
: destroy
defacer
noun
Examples of deface in a Sentence
The building was defaced with graffiti.
He was fined for defacing public property.
Recent Examples on the Web
On Monday evening, enraged people scaled and defaced a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father and the country’s first president, who led the Bangladeshi independence movement against Pakistan in 1971.
—
Mehedi Hasan Marof, NBC News, 6 Aug. 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris called the flag burning and defacing of property despicable and unpatriotic.
—Matt Galka, Baltimore Sun, 25 July 2024
The felony law of destroying, defacing or removing materials intended to be used at a voting center now also includes acts against materials used for an election office, ballot counting area, ballot storage area, or election system.
—Victor Hagan, USA TODAY, 13 May 2024
The Amsterdam statue was not the first Holocaust or Anne Frank memorial in Europe to be defaced since Oct. 7.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for deface 
Mehedi Hasan Marof, NBC News, 6 Aug. 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris called the flag burning and defacing of property despicable and unpatriotic.
—Matt Galka, Baltimore Sun, 25 July 2024
The felony law of destroying, defacing or removing materials intended to be used at a voting center now also includes acts against materials used for an election office, ballot counting area, ballot storage area, or election system.
—Victor Hagan, USA TODAY, 13 May 2024
The Amsterdam statue was not the first Holocaust or Anne Frank memorial in Europe to be defaced since Oct. 7.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for deface
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deface.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near deface
Cite this Entry
“Deface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deface. Accessed 22 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
deface
transitive verb
de·face
di-ˈfās 
defaced; defacing
: to destroy or mar the face or surface of
defacement
noun
defacer
noun
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