1
as in flecks
a small area that is different (as in color) from the main part
a lizard with specks of white against a green body
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in splashes
a very small amount
not a speck of explanation to accompany the book's pictures
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in particles
a very small piece
a speck of dust was preventing the laser from reading the disc
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in sprinkles
to mark with small spots especially unevenly
dirt that had specked the windows of the factory for ages
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of specks
Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 25 Mar. 2026
Keep an eye out for tiny brown or orange specks, especially around door edges, undercarriage and seams.
—Jenna Prestininzi, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026
Learning how to apply mascara correctly can level up your whole eye look—but without the proper technique, even the best mascara can leave you with clumps, smears, or black specks across your face.
—Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 20 Mar. 2026
On Saturday, a gruesome smear of dark red blood could still be found on the sidewalk, with specks of blood being found near a Citi Bike charging station.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2026
The specks of light are small bombs, each carrying up to 11 pounds of explosives, which are released at high altitude from the head of the missile before raining down indiscriminately over a wide area.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
These generally appear as white bumps or specks that encrust the stems, branches, and undersides of leaves and suck the sap.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
As for the killings of his wife and in-laws, Zeigler’s lawyers contend the real killer would have blood spatter on their clothes, which Zeigler did not save for two specks of Perry Edwards’ blood on his shoes.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2026
This combination of rich green and fine gold specks is simple, easy to create, and always timeless.
—Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 7 Mar. 2026
Noun
Keep an eye out for tiny brown or orange specks, especially around door edges, undercarriage, and seams.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 25 Mar. 2026
Keep an eye out for tiny brown or orange specks, especially around door edges, undercarriage and seams.
—Jenna Prestininzi, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026
Learning how to apply mascara correctly can level up your whole eye look—but without the proper technique, even the best mascara can leave you with clumps, smears, or black specks across your face.
—Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 20 Mar. 2026
On Saturday, a gruesome smear of dark red blood could still be found on the sidewalk, with specks of blood being found near a Citi Bike charging station.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2026
The specks of light are small bombs, each carrying up to 11 pounds of explosives, which are released at high altitude from the head of the missile before raining down indiscriminately over a wide area.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
These generally appear as white bumps or specks that encrust the stems, branches, and undersides of leaves and suck the sap.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
As for the killings of his wife and in-laws, Zeigler’s lawyers contend the real killer would have blood spatter on their clothes, which Zeigler did not save for two specks of Perry Edwards’ blood on his shoes.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2026
This combination of rich green and fine gold specks is simple, easy to create, and always timeless.
—Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 7 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for specks
Noun
-
Berber carpet Berber is a type of loop pile carpet with flecks of color.—
Faith Wakefield,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Using x-ray fluorescence spectrometry, scholars determined that the ancient off-white fluid was composed of calcite, huntite, and miniscule flecks of yellow orpiment, a highly toxic sulfide of arsenic that Egyptians also used in medicine to treat syphilis and malaria.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Harry & Meghan and With Love, Meghan represent Archewell Productions’ biggest splashes in Hollywood by far, but the company has also had its hands in an array of other documentaries, the most recent of which, Cookie Queens, premiered at Sundance in January.—
Erin Vanderhoof,
Vanity Fair,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The dramatist’s mode is broader and brasher, calculated for the sweep of the stage rather than the close-up, with splashes of color and humor that can verge on camp.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Take a room full of particles, for instance, where half of the particles are cold (low in kinetic energy, moving slowly, with a long timescale in between collisions) and half of the particles are hot (high in kinetic energy, moving rapidly, with short timescales separating successive collisions).—
Big Think,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
-
As free quarks cannot exist in isolation, quarks produced from the vacuum immediately combine into composite particles called hyperons.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But for every shirt bearing a slogan, there were ten cheeks covered in (biodegradable) glitter like the kind that Diggins sprinkles on her face before every race.—
Bill McKibben,
New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Groff sprinkles this punchy, athletic syntax over a slew of intricate settings.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The notation was curiously quaint, dots and curly tails swimming along like so many tadpoles.—
Tim Parks,
New Yorker,
11 Apr. 2026
-
For over a decade now, voters have connected the dots between rising costs and what is happening in Annapolis.—
Randy Altschuler,
Baltimore Sun,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
While the storm is looming, there are new glimmers of possibility—friends can become lovers, strangers can become friends on the subway, the supermarket aisles are charged with meaning.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
But there are glimmers of hope beyond the carnage, too.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
About 80 times heavier than protons, W bosons are among the heaviest of nature’s fundamental particles, which can’t be broken down into smaller bits.—
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
10 Apr. 2026
-
There may be no documents in the libraries, but the trees hold bits and shards of this land’s collective memory.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
What Sacks doesn’t get is that by financing and diplomatically supporting Israel, our country makes the crimes of the Israeli government possible, which stains America’s reputation in the world and drains our Treasury.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Every failure of the state now stains the turban as well as the uniform.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Specks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/specks. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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