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
The mural, which depicts Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, the last two Italian survivors of Auschwitz, was defaced multiple times and even erased by vandals.
—
Rachel Wolf, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025
The comment was deleted not long afterward, but screenshots of it were posted on social media — as were images of defaced Heartbeat Brand hats.
—Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2025
In December, two people who deputies said were photographed defacing another petroglyph in Utah were identified with help from the public, McClatchy News previously reported.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 4 Feb. 2025
Over the past week, vandals sprayed the main entrance of the business school with red paint and used a cement-like substance and graffiti to deface the bathrooms of the public affairs school.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for deface 
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Rachel Wolf, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025
The comment was deleted not long afterward, but screenshots of it were posted on social media — as were images of defaced Heartbeat Brand hats.
—Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2025
In December, two people who deputies said were photographed defacing another petroglyph in Utah were identified with help from the public, McClatchy News previously reported.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 4 Feb. 2025
Over the past week, vandals sprayed the main entrance of the business school with red paint and used a cement-like substance and graffiti to deface the bathrooms of the public affairs school.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for deface
Dictionary Entries Near deface
Cite this Entry
“Deface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deface. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.
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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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