de·face  (d ĭ-f ās )
Share:
tr.v. de·faced, de·fac·ing, de·fac·es 1. To mar or spoil the appearance or surface of; disfigure. 2. To impair the usefulness, value, or influence of. 3. Obsolete To obliterate; destroy.
[Middle English defacen, from Old French desfacier : des-, de- + face, face; see FACE.]
de·facea·ble adj. de·facement n. de·facer n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage Dictionary Blog
This website is best viewed in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. Some characters in pronunciations and etymologies cannot be displayed properly in Internet Explorer.