1. damages or spoils the surface or appearance of something
Usage: third person singular present tense of ‘deface’

Examples

• The vandal defaces public property with graffiti.
• Someone defaces the statue every few months.
• The weather slowly defaces the old building’s facade.
• He defaces library books by writing in the margins.
• Acid rain defaces marble monuments over time.
• The artist claims he enhances walls, but the city says he defaces them.