MOTES Synonyms: 99 Similar and Opposite Words

motes

noun

plural of mote

as in specks

a very small piece there's not a mote of dirt in that woman's house

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of motes Tiny bugs float in the sun like dust motes, and there are graceful flies large enough to require a runway landing. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 4 May 2026 Sunbeams through the windows illuminate floating dust motes—and, imperceptibly, microdroplets of mucus carrying the measles virus, expelled from an infected but asymptomatic child who is hopping and laughing among the others. — Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026 Easily swept up by wind and carried long distances by water, these tiny motes are also exceedingly difficult to detect and almost impossible to remove from the environment. — K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026 There’s a Gambit-adjacent one that has players depositing motes while killing other teams. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025 The sensors’ small size allows seamless integration into almost any environment, while the wireless, modular design lets motes be added or removed as needed depending on the application. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2025 Powering and recording signals from multiple motes will require new techniques and better signal processing. — Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Oct. 2016

Recent Examples of Synonyms for motes

Noun

The source was generally in good condition, but mold spots and dense clusters of small white specks required careful treatment.

— Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Breakouts can look like milder, painless white bumps or dark specks known as whiteheads and blackheads, or more painful red bumps and deeper cysts — a mark of cystic acne.

— Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of specks

Noun

Those products are made with tiny particles that are more likely to be inhaled or absorbed by marine organisms.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
For example, when a credit card is fragmented into particles some 10 microns in diameter, there is a more than 200-fold increase in its surface area, says Wei Min, a chemist at Columbia University and one of the senior authors of the study.

— Payal Dhar, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of particles

Noun

The oversized jacket featured a furry white base adorned with flecks of silver, which beautifully mirrored the sumptuous coats on the runway.

— Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 25 Sep. 2026
Add the torn basil and process just until incorporated -- there will be flecks of green in the mixture.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of flecks

Noun

O’Rourke and double bassist Johan Berthling shape a steady drone, while Ishibashi’s piano runs suggest time-lapse footage of ice crystals forming, ordinary little bits cohering into objects of wonder.

— Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
Cryptographers responded by lengthening the keys, and 2,048 bits is now considered the minimum.

— Chris Stokel-Walker, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of bits

Noun

Ukrainian production of grains and oilseeds is forecast to increase to 85 million tonnes from 80 million tonnes this year, but carry-over stocks from the previous season are pressuring Ukraine's storage infrastructure and logistics, Zaihraiev noted.

— Jenni Reid, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026
Whole grains are digested more slowly than refined grains, which may help reduce blood sugar spikes after eating.

— Sarah Jividen, Verywell Health, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of grains

Noun

Games like cornhole, ringer darts and Kubb — a lawn game involving teams tossing wooden blocks to knock over their opponents’ blocks — were set up on small turf patches.

— Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 11 Oct. 2026
First comes the tightness and dullness, then the flaky patches around my cheeks.

— Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of patches

Noun

The scientists altered those molecules, however, replacing flexible carbon chains with more rigid structures called benzene rings.

— Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 12 Oct. 2026
Because the plant itself doesn’t yield an essential oil, the fragrance is conjured by perfumers using an array of synthetic molecules.

— April Long, Allure, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of molecules

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motels

motes

motet

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“Motes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motes. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of motes

noun

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