deface
/dɪˈfeɪs/verb
deface is spelled D-E-F-A-C-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, deface means “To damage or vandalize something, especially a surface, in a visible or conspicuous manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in deface?
| Letters | 6: D-E-F-A-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,114th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is deface?
Deface appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce deface?
- /dɪˈfeɪs/
- /diːˈfeɪs/
Deface has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-deface.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of deface
- defaces present, singular, he/she/it
- defacing participle, present
- defaced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deface mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To damage or vandalize something, especially a surface, in a visible or conspicuous manner.
- 2
To void or devalue; to nullify or degrade the face value of.
He defaced the I.O.U. notes by scrawling "void" over them.
- 3
To alter a coat of arms or a flag by adding an element to it.
You get the Finnish state flag by defacing the national flag with the state coat of arms placed in the middle of the cross.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deface in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to damage:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | défigurer, dégrader |
| German | verunstalten, entstellen |
| Portuguese | desfigurar |
| Spanish | pintarrajear |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does deface come from?
From Middle English defacen, from Old French defacier, desfacier (“to mutilate, destroy, disfigure”), from des- (“away from”) (see dis-) + Late Latin facia.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).