deface Meaning, Definition & Usage

verb mar or spoil the appearance of
blemish; disfigure.
- scars defaced her cheeks
- The vandals disfigured the statue

OE. defacen to disfigure, efface, OF. desfacier; L. dis- + facies face. See Face, and cf. Efface.

imperfect & past participle Defaced ; present participle & verbal noun Defacing

To destroy or mar the face or external appearance of; to disfigure; to injure, spoil, or mar, by effacing or obliterating important features or portions of; as, to deface a monument; to deface an edifice; to deface writing; to deface a note, deed, or bond; to deface a record. "This high face defaced." Emerson.
So by false learning is good sense defaced. Pope.
Cf. F. défaire. To destroy; to make null. Obs.
[Profane scoffing] doth . . . deface the reverence of religion. Bacon.

For all his power was utterly defaste [defaced]. Spenser.
Syn. -- See Efface.