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
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
Swipe directly onto the hollows of your cheeks and temples, then blend up and out with a stippling brush to keep the lift high and defined.
—Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stipple
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
Swipe directly onto the hollows of your cheeks and temples, then blend up and out with a stippling brush to keep the lift high and defined.
—Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stipple
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stipple
Verb
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Sparse trees dot the view, and black volcanic soil is broken only by sudden bursts of bright green pushing through the ash.—
Layne Randolph,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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Inside a charred book, pages dotted in soot stains tell the story of how San Francisco rose to the epicenter of a gold rush.—
Sneha Dhandapani,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Place 3 avocados, halved, pits removed, cut side up, 2 plum tomatoes, halved through stem ends, cut side up, 1 bunch scallions, and 1 jalapeño on a rimmed baking sheet; drizzle lightly with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.—
Hana Asbrink,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
1 June 2026
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Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle over batter in the pan.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
31 May 2026
Verb
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But staining showed no RNA or DNA molecules, indicating that the cells were definitely dead.—
Siddhant Pusdekar,
Quanta Magazine,
1 June 2026
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The Bruins’ bat boy’s tears stained the front of Cholowsky’s jersey as his sobs grew heavier by the second.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
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.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
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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.—
Paula Disbrowe,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 May 2026
Verb
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The Grammy-winning singer has never shied away from dyeing her hair.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
30 May 2026
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After cotton is harvested, it is spun into yarn and dyed — typically with indigo, a process that can involve significant water use and chemical treatments.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stipple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stipple. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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