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
-
Sure, that might help convince Donovan Mitchell to sign on the dotted line when a contract extension gets placed in front of him.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2026
-
And eventually, the Greek forward signed on the dotted line to remain in Milwaukee.—
Eric Nehm,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with parsley.—
Faye Levy,
Oc Register,
11 Feb. 2026
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It can be sprinkled directly onto the ice to melt it, similar to the way rock salt works.—
Timothy Dale,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Small balconies glance upon the terracotta-and-lemon-colored canal homes, a picturesque way to start each day with a little caffè.—
Elly Leavitt,
Vogue,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The Seahawks are now the third team in a row to win the Super Bowl in colored jerseys.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Gooday explained that red hone is blue hone that has been stained by iron materials.—
Asuka Koda,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Classic raised garden beds made of wood and stained to protect them from the elements are a good way to pack a lot of plants into a small space.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 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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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
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Last weekend, more than 400 shacks speckled the frozen bay, Bloedorn recalled, as ice anglers flocked to the Upper Peninsula to take advantage of perfect ice conditions.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stippled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stippled. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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