: marked with spots of different colors : having blotches of two or more colors
mottled tree bark
a mottled complexion
the bird's mottled plumage
A combination of red and blue pigments in the shell of a live lobster creates a mottled camouflage of indeterminate hue that blends in with the ocean floor.—
Kenneth Chang
Kenneth ChangExamples of mottled in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His wobbly outlines, gauche bodies and mottled colors yield great pictures, undoubtedly.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
The design is muted, with an emphasis on natural, local materials: rope, rattan, and bamboo, alongside rustic linens in cream and taupe, featuring just the occasional nod to the tropical surroundings in the form of a tasteful palm tree print or a splash of mottled green.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 15 Mar. 2024
Workers shuffle through that mottled brown carpet with bare feet — like kicking sand on the beach — to expose the harvest to some sun.
—Mumbi Gitau, Fortune Europe, 27 Feb. 2024
Soon another ball-python type, the piebald, or pied, which features mottled brown spots on an ivory body and is considered scarce in the wild, became popular: in 1997, a pied ball python could sell for thirty thousand dollars.
—Rebecca Giggs, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024
June bugs Large beetles with stout bodies and mottled coloring, often called May, June or Chafer beetles.
—The Arizona Republic, 14 Feb. 2024
Pruning Don’t prune the plant after the bloom; instead, let the mottled, deep-green foliage die back on its own in midsummer.
—Nadia Hassani, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Jan. 2024
The velvety interior contrasts with the mottled sheepskin exterior.
—The Editors, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2023
Sandra, too, is committed to the truth, the mottled kind that artists know.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2023
Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
The design is muted, with an emphasis on natural, local materials: rope, rattan, and bamboo, alongside rustic linens in cream and taupe, featuring just the occasional nod to the tropical surroundings in the form of a tasteful palm tree print or a splash of mottled green.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 15 Mar. 2024
Workers shuffle through that mottled brown carpet with bare feet — like kicking sand on the beach — to expose the harvest to some sun.
—Mumbi Gitau, Fortune Europe, 27 Feb. 2024
Soon another ball-python type, the piebald, or pied, which features mottled brown spots on an ivory body and is considered scarce in the wild, became popular: in 1997, a pied ball python could sell for thirty thousand dollars.
—Rebecca Giggs, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024
June bugs Large beetles with stout bodies and mottled coloring, often called May, June or Chafer beetles.
—The Arizona Republic, 14 Feb. 2024
Pruning Don’t prune the plant after the bloom; instead, let the mottled, deep-green foliage die back on its own in midsummer.
—Nadia Hassani, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Jan. 2024
The velvety interior contrasts with the mottled sheepskin exterior.
—The Editors, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2023
Sandra, too, is committed to the truth, the mottled kind that artists know.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mottled.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Mottled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mottled. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
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