as in to dot
to mark with small spots especially unevenly
the sunlight falling through the lace curtain stippled her face
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stipple
Two pumps on the back of my hand did the trick, stippling it across my red-speckled cheeks and around my nose.
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Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
21 Dec. 2025
Inside the passage, the lips of water beyond my torchlight are coal black, stippled with freckles of sediment.
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Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
The yellowing, eventually turning to brown, starts with stippling or tiny dots on the foliage where mites have pierced the leaves’ epidermis with their stylets or sucking mouthparts.
—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
20 Sep. 2025
Spider mites cause yellowing or stippling on the leaves.
—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stipple
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
21 Dec. 2025
Inside the passage, the lips of water beyond my torchlight are coal black, stippled with freckles of sediment.
—
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
The yellowing, eventually turning to brown, starts with stippling or tiny dots on the foliage where mites have pierced the leaves’ epidermis with their stylets or sucking mouthparts.
—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
20 Sep. 2025
Spider mites cause yellowing or stippling on the leaves.
—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stipple
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stipple
Verb
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Security cameras dotted the property, and a guard called out to visitors who strayed too close.
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The landscape is dotted with lighthouses, and climbing one feels like a rite of passage.
Verb
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There are more than 70 hits sprinkled like glitter across this tale of a pair of lovers and a cast of performers at the Moulin Rouge cabaret club.
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Custom Paul Smith deck chairs are positioned on the waterfront, a collection of board games offers a respite from the sun, and other witty, Paul Smith touches are sprinkled throughout the property.
Verb
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Prosecutors said a boxcutter stained with what appeared to be blood was found in the car, and there were also possible bloodstains found on the steering wheel and exterior door.
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At the site, an Associated Press reporter saw rubble and chunks of concrete stained with blood.
Verb
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The 21st century has yielded no shortage of stylish horror marbled with devious veins of pitch-dark humor — Peter Strickland’s In Fabric, Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook, Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, pretty much every Jordan Peele feature.
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Brisket is a tough, richly marbled cut that only turns tender after hours of low-and-slow cooking, when connective tissue breaks down and fat renders into the meat.
Verb
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Before that, the agency said the bottom of the pool was black, and at times in its history water had been dyed to improve reflectivity.
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But that river is dyed green for a day.
Cite this Entry
“Stipple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stipple. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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