Dappled
What it means
Marked with irregular patches or spots of contrasting color or light.
Reach for it when describing a surface whose broken pattern gives it visual variety
Dappled light moved across the reading room as the branches stirred.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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everyday
speckled
Fits when numerous tiny, separate marks make the pattern
Careful Speckles are too small and discrete for broad patches of shade.
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everyday
spotted
Fits when the marks have clear, countable boundaries
Careful Spotted lacks the soft, shifting pattern often conveyed by dappled.
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warm
flecked
Fits when sparse little streaks or points interrupt a base color
Careful Flecks are scattered accents, not an overall patchwork.
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professional
mottled
Fits when irregular areas of different shades cover a surface
Careful Mottled can suggest discoloration or damage instead of an attractive play of light.
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formal
variegated
Fits when several colors or forms create broad variation
Careful Variegated need not contain the small patches characteristic of dappling.
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literary
stippled
Fits when a dotted texture or artistic technique is meant
Careful Stippled sounds technical and wrongly implies that dots produced the effect.
Opposites 3
- plain
- uniform
- unspotted
Common phrases 4
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dappled sunlight
Dappled sunlight warmed the moss beside the woodland path.
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dappled shade
The bench rested in dappled shade beneath two old maples.
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dappled coat
The foal's dappled coat became silver in the winter light.
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dappled pattern
A dappled pattern of blue and green softened the long wall.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated