: 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
Inside the old asylum, plaster peeled from mottled walls and holes gaped in the ceiling.
—Jen Rose Smith, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
The foliage turns a pretty mottled reddish hue in fall.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025
As the name implies, tortoiseshell nails have the same mottled brown and yellow colors found in the trendy material, which is commonly used for sunglasses and jewelry.
—Bella Cacciatore, Glamour, 2 Sep. 2025
The babies, usually two or three to a family, start as small, fluffy creatures with dark, mottled spots on their heads and webbed feet much too big for their bodies.
—Monica Deeks, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mottled
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Jen Rose Smith, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
The foliage turns a pretty mottled reddish hue in fall.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025
As the name implies, tortoiseshell nails have the same mottled brown and yellow colors found in the trendy material, which is commonly used for sunglasses and jewelry.
—Bella Cacciatore, Glamour, 2 Sep. 2025
The babies, usually two or three to a family, start as small, fluffy creatures with dark, mottled spots on their heads and webbed feet much too big for their bodies.
—Monica Deeks, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mottled
Cite this Entry
“Mottled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mottled. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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