1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
years of wear had defaced the fine engraving on the coins
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in disfigured
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in mutilated
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defaced
Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Someone had defaced it overnight with paper cutouts and red paint.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
The Greenwich Village apartment building of New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn was defaced with red paint and graffiti in the early hours of Friday morning.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
In June, a Pilsen mural depicting solidarity with Palestinians and immigrants was defaced.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
The Boston Police Department is investigating vandalism that occurred at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End, where a statue of the Virgin Mary was defaced with graffiti.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 14 Aug. 2025
Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at B’nai Brith Canada, noted that just a week earlier a synagogue in Victoria, British Columbia, had been defaced with antisemitic threats, underscoring that Jew-hatred has become a nationwide problem.
—Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Lincoln County Schools took a smiliar position back in 2021 when racial slurs defaced school property.
—Evan Moore
august 13, Charlotte Observer, 13 Aug. 2025
While organized protests have largely been peaceful, vandals across the country have damaged or defaced Tesla vehicles in recent weeks.
—Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Authorities found weapons defaced with slurs and anti-Israel graffiti.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Someone had defaced it overnight with paper cutouts and red paint.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
The Greenwich Village apartment building of New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn was defaced with red paint and graffiti in the early hours of Friday morning.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
In June, a Pilsen mural depicting solidarity with Palestinians and immigrants was defaced.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
The Boston Police Department is investigating vandalism that occurred at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End, where a statue of the Virgin Mary was defaced with graffiti.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 14 Aug. 2025
Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at B’nai Brith Canada, noted that just a week earlier a synagogue in Victoria, British Columbia, had been defaced with antisemitic threats, underscoring that Jew-hatred has become a nationwide problem.
—Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Lincoln County Schools took a smiliar position back in 2021 when racial slurs defaced school property.
—Evan Moore
august 13, Charlotte Observer, 13 Aug. 2025
While organized protests have largely been peaceful, vandals across the country have damaged or defaced Tesla vehicles in recent weeks.
—Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 20 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defaced
Verb
-
Police in Phoenix have detained a young man who allegedly vandalized a public memorial for Charlie Kirk, the conservative commentator killed last week at a university campus in Utah, media cited police as saying.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
-
The mural has been vandalized before, and already the Native man’s genitals were barely visible because someone had previously tried to obscure the paint.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Reportedly, 3 lakh acres of farmlands have been damaged and according to the Punjab state government half a million people across 23 districts have been affected by floods.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre will return to its home base, the Warwick Theatre, next week for its first production there since a fire badly damaged the historic venue 19 months ago.—
Dan Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
He’s inspired by the antics of Angus Oblong, the mastermind of The Oblongs, an Adult Swim show that centered around a disfigured family living in an area plagued by radiation.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The tall, steep mountains that rise to 6,000 feet in elevation in the Grandfather District saw triple digit winds and some of the heaviest rainfall of the storm with hundreds of miles of trail and road destroyed.—
Graham Averill,
Outside,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Alshon cruised past Johnson 3,7 in a surprise, while Garnett destroyed Haworth 4,1 to set up a very solid final.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The disruptions come amid a WNBA season in which multiple games were marred by the objects making appearances on the court.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Each death was devastating to relatives and friends left behind, and the first decades of the twentieth century were marred by individual grief on a global scale.—
Alice Vernon
September 8,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The socio-economic mechanics of traditional insurance create a distorted landscape, one where disciplined, loss-conscious businesses subsidize the behavior of less responsible market players.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
This can create a distorted picture.—
Mykola Lukashuk,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Video from local news stations showed mangled train cars, some stacked atop each other, and smoke from grass fires drifting into the surrounding rural area.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Abelardo raced outside to find his brother inside the mangled Corolla.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Hours later, after another warning was posted on X by the Israeli military, a multi-story building in Gaza City was struck but not demolished.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
-
In a shocking and dominant performance, Lesnar completely demolished Cena, delivering 16 German suplexes in a one-sided beatdown to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defaced. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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