disfigure

verb

dis·​fig·​ure dis-ˈfi-gyər 

 especially British  -ˈfi-gə

disfigured; disfiguring; disfigures

transitive verb

1

: to impair (as in beauty) by deep and persistent injuries

a face disfigured by smallpox

2

obsolete : disguise

disfigurement

dis-ˈfi-gyər-mənt 

 especially British  -ˈfi-gə-

noun

Synonyms

• blemish
• bloody
• break
• compromise
• crab
• cripple
• cross (up)
• damage
• deface
• endamage
• flaw
• harm
• hurt
• impair
• injure
• mar
• spoil
• vitiate

Examples of disfigure in a Sentence

His face was disfigured by a scar.

the statue was seriously disfigured by falling rubble during the earthquake

Recent Examples on the Web

And the filmmaker, who’s disfigured himself, really wanted to bring it out in the open. —Elena Nelson Howe, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024

In Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, Sebastian Stan stars as Edward Lemuel, a struggling actor with low self-esteem who undergoes a medical procedure to cure him of a condition called neurofibromatosis that has caused his face to be disfigured. —Brande Victorian, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Dec. 2024

An alcoholic service-station worker goes out on the town for the first time after an incident that left him disfigured. —Tomi Obaro, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024

And from the first installment of the Nightmare franchise, he's always had a trademark look: a face disfigured by burn scars, a dirty red and green striped sweater paired with a brown fedora and a leather glove adorned with metal claws on his right hand. —Stacy Lambe, People.com, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French desfigurer, from des- dis- + figure figure

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

disfigure

verb

dis·​fig·​ure dis-ˈfig-yər 

 especially British  -ˈfig-ər

: to spoil the appearance of

disfigured by a scar

disfigurement

-mənt 

noun