Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [dis-fig-yer; British dis-fig-er]
- /dɪsˈfɪg yər; British dɪsˈfɪg ər/
- /dɪsˈfɪɡ.ər/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [dis-fig-yer; British dis-fig-er]
- /dɪsˈfɪg yər; British dɪsˈfɪg ər/
Definitions of disfigure word
- verb with object disfigure to mar the appearance or beauty of; deform; deface: Our old towns are increasingly disfigured by tasteless new buildings. 1
- verb with object disfigure to mar the effect or excellence of: His reputation was disfigured by instances of political favoritism. 1
- noun disfigure Spoil the attractiveness of. 1
- transitive verb disfigure spoil the appearance of 1
- verb disfigure If someone is disfigured, their appearance is spoiled. 0
- verb disfigure To disfigure an object or a place means to spoil its appearance. 0
Information block about the term
Origin of disfigure
First appearance:
before 1325 One of the 16% oldest English words
1325-75; Middle English disfiguren < Anglo-French, Old French desfigurer, equivalent to des- dis-1 + -figurer, verbal derivative of figure figure
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Disfigure
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
disfigure popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 53% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.
disfigure usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for disfigure
verb disfigure
- scar — a precipitous, rocky place; cliff.
- deform — If something deforms a person's body or something else, it causes it to have an unnatural shape. In technical English, you can also say that the second thing deforms.
- distort — to twist awry or out of shape; make crooked or deformed: Arthritis had distorted his fingers.
- mar — to damage or spoil to a certain extent; render less perfect, attractive, useful, etc.; impair or spoil: That billboard mars the view. The holiday was marred by bad weather.
- maim — to deprive of the use of some part of the body by wounding or the like; cripple: The explosion maimed him for life.
noun disfigure
- clean out — If you clean out something such as a cupboard, room, or container, you take everything out of it and clean the inside of it thoroughly.
- dilapidate — to cause or allow (a building, automobile, etc.) to fall into a state of disrepair, as by misuse or neglect (often used passively): The house had been dilapidated by neglect.
- use up — to employ for some purpose; put into service; make use of: to use a knife.
- lay waste — to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander: to waste money; to waste words.
- wrecker — a person or thing that wrecks.
Antonyms for disfigure
verb disfigure
- beautify — If you beautify something, you make it look more beautiful.
- aid — Aid is money, equipment, or services that are provided for people, countries, or organizations who need them but cannot provide them for themselves.
- heal — to make healthy, whole, or sound; restore to health; free from ailment.
- adorn — If something adorns a place or an object, it makes it look more beautiful.
- mend — to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing: to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with d
- Words starting with di
- Words starting with dis
- Words starting with disf
- Words starting with disfi
- Words starting with disfig
- Words starting with disfigu
- Words starting with disfigur
- Words starting with disfigure