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
James Quandt, Artforum, 2 June 2026
The delicate stippled pattern is reminiscent of shifting clouds that add depth and movement while maintaining an airiness.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 25 May 2026
Watch for yellow, stippled leaves, especially on flowering or fruiting plants.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 May 2026
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
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
In a burst of primary color and trompe l’oeil trickery, five dice—red, yellow, blue, green, white—are suspended against a maroon field densely latticed with dice shapes, the cubes appearing simultaneously to lie stationary on its pip-stippled surface and to tumble downward through space.
—James Quandt, Artforum, 2 June 2026
The delicate stippled pattern is reminiscent of shifting clouds that add depth and movement while maintaining an airiness.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 25 May 2026
Watch for yellow, stippled leaves, especially on flowering or fruiting plants.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 May 2026
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
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
-
Mercury’s clash with Neptune begs you to hold off on signing on the dotted line.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
It’s liberally dotted with the designer’s personal collection of art and antiques, but still manages to feel pared-back—as if a Scandinavian fairy came down and waved all the potential clutter away.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Cubes of French bread are drizzled with butter, generously sprinkled with Swiss and Parmesan cheeses, and soaked with a luscious custard.—
Symiah Dorsey,
Southern Living,
10 June 2026
-
Its Caffe Nico is a latte with orange juice and orange peels reduced into a syrup, then sprinkled with cinnamon.—
Jenna Thompson
June 10,
Kansas City Star,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
The telegram’s design is joyful and vivid, featuring illustrations of tiny hands tossing multi-colored hats and flowers into the air in a gesture of congratulation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
The throwback elements of Rush’s show – the zigzagging colored lasers, the bursts of pyro that momentarily stunned with their booms, the gratification of watching musicians so focused on their music that running around the stage was not an option – reminded of a simpler era of concert-going.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
In another video published by B’Tselem capturing the moments after the incident, Sam’s father can be seen standing by the car, cradling his baby, whose bright yellow clothing can be seen stained with blood.—
Sarah Dean,
NBC news,
12 June 2026
-
Every blue jersey will be stained with blood by the end of the match.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
The sides may be mottled with brown blotches.—
Ken Perrotte,
Outdoor Life,
4 June 2026
-
The paint is deftly mottled but its handling lacks the prowess of her later work (see, for example, Being Beamed, 1984, a fantasia of extraterrestrial teleportation in which the watercolor is sumptuous but perfectly controlled).—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Occasional white patches flecked the landscape, alkali deposits where even prairie grass and scrub cottonwood refused to grow.—
Eric Moskowitz,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
-
Dishes of shepherd’s pie blanketed in smooth, buttery mashed potatoes flecked with cheddar cheese.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
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,
1 June 2026
-
On Tuesday, a few campaign signs speckled the cream walls of the room.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stippled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stippled. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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