DEFACING Synonyms: 143 Similar and Opposite Words

defacing 1 of 2

noun

as in vandalism

deliberate damaging or destroying of another's property the neo-Nazis' defacing of the synagogue was condemned by the entire community

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

defacing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of deface

as in vandalizing

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in marring

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

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 defacing

Noun

The investigation into the racist defacing of the black professors’ portraits at Harvard Law School in 2015 continues into an eleventh year with no resolution and no suspects. — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 31 Dec. 2025

Verb

Over the weekend, ShinyHunters boasted about hijacking and defacing CLOP’s site on the dark web with an image of a Pokémon. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026 Trump, in one of his Truth Social posts, cited laws against defacing monuments as grounds for imprisoning anyone harming the pool. — Nathan Ellgren, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026 Two men from Germany were arrested after being accused of defacing a pride bench in Miami Beach with antisemitic symbols on Monday. — Steven Yablonski, CBS News, 19 May 2026 No one in Florida had been charged with criminal mischief for defacing a traffic control device until the August arrests. — Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026 An inflatable effigy depicting Trump defacing the Constitution made its way through the crowd. — Nik Popli, Time, 28 Mar. 2026 This exclusion protects the home warranty company from homeowners who may try to get replacements for appliances or home system components by defacing or damaging them purposefully. — Dan Simms, USA Today, 23 Mar. 2026 Denilson Pires was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and defacing a firearm serial number. — Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 10 Mar. 2026 Sohail faces federal charges of intentionally defacing or damaging religious real property, which carries a maximum three years behind bars. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 2 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defacing

Noun

Some far-right politicians have blamed immigration for the wave of looting and vandalism that battered a number of French cities on October 17.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
The economic impact of business vandalism in France extends the economic consequences of retail theft.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of vandalism

Verb

On January 8, 2023, thousands of his supporters stormed the heart of Brasilia, the federal capital, vandalizing the buildings of the Supreme Court, Congress, and the Presidential Palace.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
The Justice Department's inspector general has declined to investigate allegations of misconduct against the prosecutors who brought an indictment against Olympian David Hearn that falsely accused him of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool.

— Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of vandalizing

Verb

The Trib is withholding Nick’s full name to avoid marring his reputation in the eyes of future employers or others who might run a search on him.

— Kate Payne, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
The latter track takes overt inspiration from Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette, as Jepsen beckons her love to engage in life’s vices with her, like marring bedsheets with fruit stains and dashing nude through the garden.

— Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of marring

Noun

Riverside has both a community center named for Chavez and a bronze statue — often the target of vandalization — on the Main Street pedestrian mall in the city’s downtown.

— Ryan Carter, Daily News, 19 Mar. 2026
Police said officers from the 116th Precinct had been alerted to the vandalization in the neighborhood and found 11 different police vehicles, both marked and unmarked, with damage.

— Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 13 Nov. 2025

Definition of vandalization

Verb

One crab can eat more than 40 juvenile soft-shell clams in a day, while also destroying seagrass habitats.

— Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
And then a seven-hour-long GRB came along—acting like a Death Star whose planet-destroying beam refused to switch off—that defied all explanation.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

It’s also sparked criticism, with some worried that strangers are capitalizing on gravesites without notifying descendants and risking damaging the sites.

— Kimberlee Kruesi, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
In Hollywood, city officials may open beach parking garages so residents can relocate their vehicles away from damaging saltwater flooding.

— Ted Scouten, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of damaging

Noun

About 90% of the city was flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, according to the White House.

— Reuters, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
The suspect, 27-year-old Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano of Stafford, Virginia, has been charged with felony destruction of property, trespass with intent to damage, and felony injury to a monument, court records show.

— Diego Mendoza, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of destruction

Verb

The district selected a redevelopment proposal this year that would include demolishing the school and building single-family homes.

— Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
The 18-year-old female elephant got loose from her handler outside her enclosure, then went on the run, demolishing the door of a saloon on North Avenue, smashing in the window of another and walking through the fence around a vacant lot.

— Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of demolishing

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Style

“Defacing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defacing. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of defacing

noun

verb

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