What does disfigured mean?
Disfigured describes someone or something whose natural appearance has been seriously and usually permanently spoiled. Most often it applies to people whose faces or bodies bear the lasting marks of injury, burns, surgery, or disease, but it also extends to objects and places: a wall can be disfigured by graffiti, a coastline by industrial development, a painting by vandalism. The word comes from Latin roots meaning 'to spoil the shape', combining dis- ('apart, away') with figura ('form, figure'), so it carries the sense of a form undone. Its connotations are grave and sympathetic rather than casual; writers typically reserve it for significant, lasting damage rather than trivial blemishes. Related forms include the verb 'to disfigure' and the noun 'disfigurement'. Because of its emotional weight, careful writers choose it deliberately when the damage described is truly profound.
Having the natural appearance of the face, body, or surface seriously and often permanently damaged or spoiled.
"The veteran's hands were scarred and disfigured by the blast."
Often intensified by adverbs such as 'badly', 'severely', or 'permanently'.
Past form of 'disfigure': to spoil the appearance of something or someone.
"Years of weathering had disfigured the marble façade."
The word literally means 'un-shape' — Latin dis- plus figura — so to disfigure something is, etymologically speaking, to strip it of its very form.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of disfigured
'Disfigured' derives from the verb 'disfigure', which English borrowed in Middle English from Old French desfigurer, itself built on Late Latin disfigura(re) from dis- ('apart') plus figura ('shape, form'). The same Latin root figura gave English 'figure', 'figurative', 'configure', and, via a diminutive, 'effigy'. The word has carried its core sense — spoiling of outward form — since it entered English in the late medieval period.
Related word forms
How disfigured is actually used
When applied to people, 'disfigured' is a serious and sensitive term describing permanent visible damage; it should be used with care as it can sound clinical or stigmatising. It functions both as a passive participle ('was disfigured') and as a straightforward adjective ('a disfigured face').