Disfigure

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /dɪsˈfɪɡə/

Definitions

1. To mar or spoil the appearance or beauty of something, especially by causing damage, deformity, or scarring
2. To damage, deform, or impair the physical appearance or aesthetic quality of a person, object, or surface
3. To alter or harm the outward form or looks of something in a way that diminishes its beauty or normal appearance

Etymology: "Disfigure" is a compound built from "dis-", a prefix meaning "apart" or "undoing," and "figure," so its literal sense is to take the figure, or shape, away from something. The "figure" half comes from Latin "figura," meaning shape or form, the same root behind "figure" in its many senses of outline, body, and number. English took the word from Anglo-Norman "desfigurer," the Norman French form that carried Latin "figura" into the language after the Norman Conquest, and it reached Middle English as "disfiguren." The word's core idea has stayed close to its original shape-related meaning. Where "figure" can mean a person's bodily form, "disfigure" describes marring that form, whether through injury, scarring, or deformity, and later extended to spoiling the look or beauty of a thing more generally.

Synonyms: mar, deform, blemish, deface, scar

Antonyms: beautify, enhance, perfect, restore, improve