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deface

UK/dɪˈfeɪs/US/dɪˈfeɪs/
verbB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,879 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: defaced, defacing, defaces

To deface is to spoil the surface or appearance of something. Deface a monument, defaced posters, defacing property.

It is a criminal offence against property and it covers spraying, scratching and marking. In Britain defacing a ballot paper is not an offence, and spoiled ballots are counted separately. The word is literally to remove the face of a thing.

Definitions of deface

  1. 1verbdefaceTo spoil the surface or appearance of something.B2+

    “Vandals defaced the statue with red spray paint.”

deface is a spoiling.

Where it comes from

Old French desfacier means to disfigure, from des-, away, plus face. Literally to remove the face.

  1. Latin

    facia

  2. Old French

    defacier

  3. Middle English

    defacen

  4. English, today

    deface

Built from

  • desfacier · Old French — to mutilate, destroy, disfigure
  • des- · Old French — away from

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

deface in the wild

  • A cancellation is a postal marking applied on a postage stamp or postal stationery to deface the stamp and to prevent its reuse.

    Cancellation (mail)

  • For example, the Australian flag is the British Blue Ensign defaced with a Southern Cross in the fly.

    Defacement (flag)

  • For example, many state flags are formed by defacing the national flag with a coat of arms.

    Defacement (flag)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.