1
as in destroys
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 injures
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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defaces
Verb
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And God does and kills everybody and destroys everything.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026 -
His stance joins a bipartisan chorus, including GOP leaders and Governor Shapiro, warning that inciting violence against Jewish neighbors destroys the path toward peace.—
Staff,
FOXNews.com,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Bystander videos, like the ones taken of Pretti, have played a key role for decades in informing the public when law enforcement kills or injures people.—
Ava Berger,
NPR,
28 Jan. 2026
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California law already criminalizes unsafe gun storage in certain situations, including when a child accesses a firearm and injures or kills someone.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The meatpacking giant also charges workers when someone takes or damages their personal protective equipment and insists on a three-year agreement, the union said.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
5 Feb. 2026
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To explore that possibility, researchers at University College London and Queen Square Analytics set out to look beyond symptoms and clinical labels and focus instead on the biological signals of how MS damages the brain.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The latest filing demolishes the timeworn claim that DOGE was infiltrated into Social Security in order to responsibly ferret out fraud and overspending.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
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If the city demolishes the building, the costs will be assessed to the property owner.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The picture exudes both grace and vulnerability, and hints at imperfection by way of a disconcerting, coral-like wrinkle that mars the foot’s heel.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
20 Dec. 2025
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Deadly holiday weekend mars broad crime drop The back-and-forth followed a Labor Day weekend of deadly violence in Chicago worse than in the previous two years, with seven people shot to death, according to preliminary Chicago Police Department reports.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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However, special considerations must be made for a brontosaurus who trashes London in the climax of the 1925 silent film The Lost World.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
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These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.—
Andrew Rein,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
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Scarface and friends attack the lab, and break out the kryptonite that cripples El and Kali.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Mane challenges Will to a round of one-and-one and basically smashes him.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
9 Feb. 2026
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The bike then smashes into a metal barricade before coming to rest against a parked car.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
7 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Defaces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defaces. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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