**Defacement** is the addition of a charge, badge or other distinguishing device to an existing flag in order to create a new or subordinate design. The practice is most common in the creation of ensigns, governors’ flags, and the flags of dependencies, where a national flag is defaced with a colonial badge or coat of arms. The word carries no pejorative sense in vexillology.
**Example**: Many British colonial flags consisted of the Blue Ensign defaced with the badge of the territory in the fly.
**See also**: [ensign](/glossary/ensign/), [charge](/glossary/charge/), [undefaced](/glossary/undefaced/), [canton](/glossary/canton/)