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
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
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
-
Barça fancy the idea of signing Silva according to Mundo Deportivo, and the Portuguese international is eager to sign on the dotted line to don Blaugrana.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
If the ratio breaks higher, through the black dotted down trendline, the question of which sector has the advantage heading into the back half of 2026 will finally be answered — technology.—
Todd Gordon,
CNBC,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
They can also be folded into batters for cookies, baked oatmeal, or quick breads like banana bread—or, for a pretty garnish, sprinkled on top just before baking.—
Kirsten Nunez,
Martha Stewart,
31 May 2026
-
And this time there were a few defensive mistakes sprinkled in, as well.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
In the Menil work, the central character is an artist brandishing a bouquet of colored pencils, surrounded by a seraphic tumble of monochrome extras that are her handiwork.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
The ones still managing to a colored dashboard will be answering for it.—
Yonesy Nunez,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Not every paramilitary fighter is stained by the corruption of the Shia elite or implicated in spilling innocent blood in recent years.—
Nabil Salih,
Time,
26 May 2026
-
Nobody can resist a saucy, savory sloppy joe, but you're bound to leave a sloppy joe meal with at least one article of clothing stained.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Its flowers are huge and orange, marked or mottled with maroon splotches.—
Pedro Moura,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Dishes of shepherd’s pie blanketed in smooth, buttery mashed potatoes flecked with cheddar cheese.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
-
Heintzman also devised a hot brown chowder, with a cream and broth base made to resemble the sandwich’s sauce, flecked with potatoes, corn, turkey, bacon, and tomatoes.—
Rich Warren,
Saveur,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
On Tuesday, a few campaign signs speckled the cream walls of the room.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 May 2026
-
Switzerland's natural beauty and breadth are astounding—snowcapped mountains with some of the world's best skiing, verdant valleys speckled with wildflowers, and quaint cities filled with cultural attractions and world-class restaurants.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stippled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stippled. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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