as in blotch
a small area that is different (as in color) from the main part a tie having eyespots of blue on a light gray background

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of eyespot Peacock butterflies are distinguished by a series of striking eyespots on their wings, which serve to threaten or confuse potential predators. Michael Franco, New Atlas, 21 Sep. 2024 But why did some lineages evolve shell eyes rather than eyespots? Quanta Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 First, red eyespots appear; then the amorphous bodies coalesce and darken into their ferocious adult forms. Nala Rogers, Popular Mechanics, 9 Aug. 2023 Their long hindwing tails and eyespots combine to give them a look resembling an elephant’s face. Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 18 July 2023 First, Rowland and her co-author trained chicks to attack a mealworm hidden behind a paper printout of two eyespots at the end of a runway. Maddie Bender, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2023 Lacewings are among the first creatures known to have had eyespots. Jakob Vinther, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2017 Perhaps the most dramatic pattern to emerge during this time was the eyespot, a marking that resembles the eye of a different kind of animal and serves to startle predators approaching their prey at speed from a distance. Jakob Vinther, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2017 Normally, the eyespot fades as the fish matures. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 23 Aug. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for eyespot
Noun
  • Brighter yellow and golden blotches run along its forehead, sides and lower back.
    Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 25 Feb. 2025
  • The resulting arrangement made the cheese clumps stand out as dark blotches in the photographs taken with an iPhone mounted on a tripod.
    Alexander Nazaryan, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Modernist structures designed by architects with recognizable names like Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe dot the United States.
    Buffy Gorrilla, NPR, 28 Feb. 2025
  • What bothers me are the many dots farther away from the center that are harder to connect.
    Eli Amdur, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Now the property has once again popped up for sale, asking a speck under $6 million.
    Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Coincidentally, also visible in the new images is the planet Mercury, appearing as a tiny speck of light gliding closer to the sun.
    Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), before an apparent breakdown in talks, mirrored Murray’s position that another short-term funding patch would give them the time needed to reach a full-year budget agreement.
    Ramsey Touchberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
  • This comes during a rough patch for the broader market.
    Pia Singh, CNBC, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The song structures melt into goo; the lyrics pelt flecks of raw feeling.
    Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 3 Dec. 2024
  • Each light is attached to a green string to easily blend into your tree, and once the lights are turned on, the liquid inside each bulb bubbles to reveal floating flecks of gold glitter to make your tree shine.
    Kaitlin Gates, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Eyespot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eyespot. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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