verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   to irreversibly damage the shape or structure of something, negatively affecting its appearance or functionality without completely destroying it.

   "His face was disfigured by a terrible fire many years ago, leaving deep scars across his crooked nose."

2. 2
   mar or spoil the appearance of wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

defaceinjurebatterblemishblemishblot

Antonyms

All antonyms

beautifydecorateform

Example

More examples

"If we let the disease run its course, it will disfigure Tom beyond recognition."

Etymology

From Middle English disfiguren, from Anglo-Norman desfigurer.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.