Dictionary

deface en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /diːˈfeɪs/
• (Southern-England) audio
• /dɪˈfeɪs/

Etymology

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

Meanings

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.
   • After the painting was defaced a decade ago, it went viral and has been a tourist attraction ever since.
2. To void or devalue; to nullify or degrade the face value of.
   • 1776: Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations One-and-twenty worn and defaced shillings, however, were considered as equivalent to a guinea, which perhaps, indeed, was worn and defaced too, but seldom so much so.
   • He defaced the I.O.U. notes by scrawling "void" over them.
3. (qualifier:flags) 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.

Forms

Antonyms

fix · beautify · rectify

Deriveds

defacement · undefaced · defacingly · defaceable · defacer

Hypernyms

manipulate

Relateds

efface

Synonyms

stain · destroy · trash · contort · tarnish · scar (damage in a conspicuous way) · devastate · undermine · impair · devalue (degrade the face value) · shend · distort · uglify · spoil · deform · soil · taint · injure · worsen · defile · disfigure (damage in a conspicuous way) · cancel (degrade the face value) · obliterate (damage in a conspicuous way) · besmirch · demolish · void (degrade the face value) · deface · harm · contaminate · scath · mar (damage in a conspicuous way) · mutilate · scathe · sully · defame · dilapidate · ruin · pollute · destruct · nullify (degrade the face value) · disgrace · maim · scratch · befoul · wreck · damage · mangle · blemish · blight · vandalize (damage in a conspicuous way)

Translations (18)

ota بوزمق (to void or devalue) · fr défigurer (to damage) · fi turmella (to void or devalue) · nl schenden (to damage) · cs poničit (to damage) · fi vahingoittaa (to void or devalue) · fr dégrader (to damage) · de entstellen (to damage) · cs počmárat (to damage) · de verunstalten (to damage) · ota بوزمق (to damage) · bg анулирам (to void or devalue) · pt desfigurar (to damage) · fi mitätöidä (to damage) · it sfregiare (to damage) · ga loit (to damage) · fi muunnella (heraldry: to alter by adding a new element) · es pintarrajear (to damage)