deface
To damage or vandalize something, especially a surface, in a visible or conspicuous mannerTo damage or vandalize something, especially a surface, in a visible or conspicuous manner.
» It was a sacred mountain before the settler state defaced it.
Meaning
3 sensesTo 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.
verunstalten, entstellen
To void or devalue; to nullify or degrade the face value of.
He defaced the I.O.U. notes by scrawling "void" over them.
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.
- mar or spoil the appearance of
Examples
7 sentencesIt was a sacred mountain before the settler state defaced it.
The monument was defaced.
ruПамятник был осквернён.
Vandals defaced the building.
Please don't deface this building.
What should've been a bustling walled city in a classical fantasy setting had been ransacked and defaced.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English defacen, from Old French defacier, desfacier (“to mutilate, destroy, dFrom Middle English defacen, from Old French defacier, desfacier (“to mutilate, destroy, disfigure”), from des- (“away from”) (see dis-) + Late Latin facia.
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Forms
defaces, defacing, defaced, defacedSynonyms
50 synonymsAntonyms
3 antonymsWord family
6 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle