as in dotted
marked with spots
create a stippled effect by dabbing a contrasting color of paint over an undercoat with a rag or sponge
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in sprinkled
to mark with small spots especially unevenly
the sunlight falling through the lace curtain stippled her face
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stippled
The Atlantic, 19 Nov. 2025
The page squinted up at the nightingale, her dull feathers and stippled breast.
—Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
Watch for yellow, stippled leaves, especially on flowering or fruiting plants.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2025
Over a 10-month period, our editors—all with vastly different preferences for coverage, finish, and format—buffed and blended (and swept and stippled) their way through about 650 submissions.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Grating anything is usually a knuckle-threatening chore—but this stippled ceramic dish from Japan makes it into its own soothing ritual, turning a brown stem into liquidish gold with a few easy rubs.
—The Atlantic, 19 Nov. 2025
The page squinted up at the nightingale, her dull feathers and stippled breast.
—Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
Watch for yellow, stippled leaves, especially on flowering or fruiting plants.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2025
Over a 10-month period, our editors—all with vastly different preferences for coverage, finish, and format—buffed and blended (and swept and stippled) their way through about 650 submissions.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
Inside the passage, the lips of water beyond my torchlight are coal black, stippled with freckles of sediment.
—Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stippled
Adjective
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As each participant started getting comfortable with the machine sewing a maze on paper, going around dotted lines, both mother and daughter got into the flow.—
Steve Sadin,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Pink is then used for the leather mustache and an insole with a dotted spiral pattern.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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These options are also useful for other forms of medication, including powders that may need to be sprinkled within the pocket and then closed off.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
These people wore sackcloth, were sprinkled with ashes and remained apart until they were reconciled with the Christian community.—
Chris Sims,
Louisville Courier Journal,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Meanwhile her partner, Broderick went the traditional route with a black suit, white button-up shirt, and a light-colored tie.—
Elle Meier,
InStyle,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The luxury hotel chain creative director, 47, wore a dark-colored peacoat, grey sweater and slacks.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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However, stuffing stinky or stained items away for months is a surefire way to permanently damage them.—
Nafeesah Allen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Feb. 2026
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Moldy plastic food containers can be reused after proper cleaning unless they are cracked, pitted, or heavily stained by mold.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Tariq’s body was already cold, and his skin was mottled.—
Ben Taub,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Shiny and dark evergreen foliage is held aloft on strong, arching stems mottled with purple flecks.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
21 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Rounds of roasted purple sweet potatoes arrive mounded with a mixture of salsa macha and butter, and liberally flecked with chives.—
Bill Addison,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Outside, a man wearing a leather biker vest bearing the insignia of the Latin American Motorcycle Association, his blond beard flecked with ice crystals, directed a line of cars through the snow.—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In the stock image of a royal robe lined with white fur speckled in black, each speckle represents the tail of one dead stoat.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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This Scottish name means speckled or freckled and has become way more commonly used than its original spelling—Brice—over the decades.—
Anna Earl,
Parents,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stippled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stippled. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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