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as in disfigured
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as in mutilated
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as in vandalized
to deliberately cause the damage or destruction of another's property the principal vowed to get the punks who defaced the statue in front of the school
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as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of years of wear had defaced the fine engraving on the coins
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of defaced
Daniela R. P. Weiner, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2026 One very analog cost robotics companies are now dealing with as their products proliferate in the wild is repair fees for robots who have been kicked, ridden on, or otherwise defaced, Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani tells Semafor. —Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 1 Apr. 2026 Internet users are obsessed with how a realtor responded in the best way to his advertisement getting defaced. —Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026 This incident was the second time the controversial mural was defaced. —Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 26 Mar. 2026 Last summer, Zeevi, who owns an HVAC company in San Jose, told KTVU that the vans at his shop were defaced with swastikas. —Lucy Hodgman, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2026 Splatters of paint now dot the mural of Iryna Zarutska, the slain Ukrainian refugee, after an unknown vandal defaced the building at the corner of North Western and West Montrose avenues. —Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026 This was not one website defaced for headlines. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Mar. 2026 And in the late 1980s, after Little Saigon found official recognition, freeway and street signs directing people to the community were frequently defaced and destroyed in disapproval, Hua said. —Victoria Le, Oc Register, 17 Feb. 2026
Verb
But then on Christmas Day of that year, Roonstrasse was defaced with antisemitic graffiti. —Daniela R. P. Weiner, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2026 One very analog cost robotics companies are now dealing with as their products proliferate in the wild is repair fees for robots who have been kicked, ridden on, or otherwise defaced, Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani tells Semafor. —Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 1 Apr. 2026 Internet users are obsessed with how a realtor responded in the best way to his advertisement getting defaced. —Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026 This incident was the second time the controversial mural was defaced. —Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 26 Mar. 2026 Last summer, Zeevi, who owns an HVAC company in San Jose, told KTVU that the vans at his shop were defaced with swastikas. —Lucy Hodgman, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2026 Splatters of paint now dot the mural of Iryna Zarutska, the slain Ukrainian refugee, after an unknown vandal defaced the building at the corner of North Western and West Montrose avenues. —Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026 This was not one website defaced for headlines. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Mar. 2026 And in the late 1980s, after Little Saigon found official recognition, freeway and street signs directing people to the community were frequently defaced and destroyed in disapproval, Hua said. —Victoria Le, Oc Register, 17 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defaced
Adjective
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In a particularly gnarly flashback, one sibling voluntarily — and crudely — amputates his fingers to match his brother's disfigured hand, which lost two digits when Angier shot him.— Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026
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The bodies had signs of binding the hands and feet, contortion of limbs, cut off fingertips and disfigured heads, according to Kaki.— ABC News, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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According to the Times coverage of the incident and subsequent lawsuit, the scenes shown in the classroom included autopsies, decaying cadavers and live animals being butchered, mutilated and tortured.— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
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But the most difficult parts also offer ways forward — news that arrives via a skull, a mutilated body, evidence of closure in many respects of the word.— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Additionally, Acker's law office in Southfield was vandalized that summer.— DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
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Twenty-two of those flags were vandalized in March 2025, prompting the department to replace them — and consider a more permanent memorial, the Idaho Statesman reported at the time.— Rose Evans April 4, Idaho Statesman, 4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But the war has damaged that argument.— Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2026
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Oil infrastructure in the Middle East has been damaged or disrupted in the Iran war.— Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Forget the glossy card-stock mailers with distorted images, designed to make your opponent look like an ax murderer.— Steve Bousquet, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026
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Forget the glossy card-stock mailers with distorted images, designed to make your opponent look like an ax murderer.— Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The assault killed at least seventeen people, including a twelve-year-old boy, wounded dozens, and destroyed buildings.— Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2026
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The 24 staff members in Ruiz Verduzco’s office are tasked with assisting victims and their families, establishing programs in communities destroyed by violence and drumming up financial support.— Molly Quell, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The park's 120th operating season, which kicked off April 3, was marred by several fights between groups of teens, culminating in three arrests.— Drew Pittock, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026
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Peacock’s first quarter was marred by the recognition of half its NBA season costs consolidated into a three-month period (because half of Peacock’s games were scheduled from January 1-March 31).— Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Nicola said three of the four turkeys were rescue animals with deformed feet that had been sitting on eggs when they were taken.— Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2026
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Central Park, for instance, has been reduced to a small, deformed square.— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/defaced. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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