From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdefacede‧face /dɪˈfeɪs/ verb [transitive] DAMAGEto spoil the surface or appearance of something, especially by writing on it or breaking it Most of the monuments had been broken or defaced.► see thesaurus at damage —defacement noun [uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
deface• There was a bust of Miguel de Unamuno at the bottom of the staircase, and it seemed to have been defaced.• If somebody entered the National Gallery and defaced a Gainsborough they would be prosecuted.• We are not free to deface and destroy the natural world.• Several of the gravestones had been defaced and were impossible to read.• The Central Bank issued a statement warning against defacing bank notes with what it called "indecent expressions".• That kid you got to quit defacing buildings and paint the chapel?• Several office buildings were defaced by graffiti.• They clutter streets, smother blocks of flats and deface many homes.• An attendant warned us not to deface public property.• The Blitz and glamour had defaced the Gospel.• Public School 45 is closed, the windows boarded up, the walls defaced with graffiti. 