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

Six months later, there was hope of reconciliation as sovereignty talks opened between the governments over the specks in the ocean that had been part of the British Empire for more than a century.

— Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 July 2026
Bellinger, once a babyface, now sports some light specks of gray.

— Johnny Flores Jr, New York Times, 15 July 2026

Definition of specks

Noun

One image of her right knee showed flecks of blue plastic that prosecutors said came from an inflatable pool Burke used to collect blood while dismembering her body.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2026
Someone unfamiliar with salt bread might even suspect a major baking error, seeing a questionably smooth croissant that entirely missed the lamination process, adorned with only a few flecks of salt acting as its saving grace.

— Candy Hom, AJC.com, 19 July 2026

Definition of flecks

Noun

Sea bass crudo is a refreshing start, the succulent slices of fish interspersed with fresh mango and bits of teardrop pepper.

— Connie Ogle July 31, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
This naturally generated probabilistic bits, or p-bits which aren’t fixed as zeros or ones, but fluctuate according to incoming data.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 30 July 2026

Definition of bits

Noun

Brandon Gerrish, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension statewide small grains specialist, performs variety testing for grains across Texas.

— Maven Navarro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 July 2026
Multigrain breads often combine several grains like wheat, oats, barley, or millet, with seeds like flax, sunflower, sesame, or pumpkin, but what’s key is whether those ingredients are listed as whole grains, Lorenz says.

— Randi Gollin, Martha Stewart, 26 July 2026

Definition of grains

Noun

The company is loath to tie up its best engineers with making security patches — a cost center — instead of developing new products and features that will generate profits, ProPublica has reported.

— Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 29 July 2026
O’Leary notes that different delivery methods work about equally well, though injections may produce a faster change than gels, patches or long-acting implants.

— Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 29 July 2026

Definition of patches

Noun

Exobiologists hoped to investigate these theories by looking for the prerequisite molecules for life, and perhaps even extraterrestrial microbes.

— Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 30 July 2026
Short-wavelengths of light, such as blue, strike molecules of nitrogen and oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere and get scattered, while longer wavelengths of light, such as red and orange, more easily travel through Earth’s atmosphere to reach your eyes.

— Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Definition of molecules

Noun

Inside this gut pouch, tens of millions of bacteria scavenge for scraps of fiber, starch, and other nutrients, and break down cellulose and proteins.

— Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 27 July 2026
Roasted vegetables, nubs of cheese, those scraps left on the roast chicken carcass—all fair game.

— Emma Laperruque, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 July 2026

Definition of scraps

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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 3 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of motes

noun

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