as in fleck
a small area that is different (as in color) from the main part
the clouds threw dapples of shadow over the eerily quiet street
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as in to sprinkle
to mark with small spots especially unevenly
sunlight dappled the canopy of vines over our heads
Synonyms & Similar Words
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of dapple
Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2022
Piglet is a Chihuahua-dachshund mix, with a genetic condition called double dapple that causes eyesight and hearing difficulties.
—Susan Dunne, courant.com, 29 Jan. 2022
Liz Doupnik, Travel + Leisure, 22 July 2024
Advertisement Sunlight, now higher overhead, dapples the sidewalk with shadows from tall ficus trees.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for dapple 
Noun
Gleaming spots caused by methane ice clouds in the planet's atmosphere dapple its lower half.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2022
Piglet is a Chihuahua-dachshund mix, with a genetic condition called double dapple that causes eyesight and hearing difficulties.
—Susan Dunne, courant.com, 29 Jan. 2022
Verb
Sophisticated Sunglasses $14 at Amazon There are plenty of perks to donning a pair of oversized sunglasses: dodging an ex, masking the damage from a night of tasting Tennessee whiskeys, and, of course, comfortably enjoying one of the many restaurant and bar patios dappled throughout town.
—Liz Doupnik, Travel + Leisure, 22 July 2024
Advertisement Sunlight, now higher overhead, dapples the sidewalk with shadows from tall ficus trees.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for dapple
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dapple
Noun
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The other side: But concerns over water fluoridation have included fluorosis, when growing teeth are exposed to too much fluoride and develop white flecks or spots, and reduced IQ in children.Kale Williams, Axios, 25 Nov. 2024
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The authors also noted that adding fluoride to drinking water may increase the number of people with dental fluorosis, a mostly cosmetic condition that can leave the teeth with white flecks, spots, or lines.Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Just spread a portion over a sheet of tortilla chips, sprinkle on some shredded cheese, and bake the whole thing in the oven.Caroline Tien, SELF, 13 Dec. 2024
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Clearly a bibliophile, Hagan has one-of-a-kind books not just on the case, but sprinkled throughout the home.Lennie Omalza, The Courier-Journal, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The light from numerous background stars, seen as orange dots behind the cloud, can be used to detect ices in the cloud, which absorb the starlight passing through them.Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2024
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Doe's story represents one small dot in a constellation of legal challenges faced by Combs, who is now awaiting trial in federal prison.Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
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In conducting the study, the team also developed a new technique to stain collagen fibers to analyze their impact on the skin’s mechanics.Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Dec. 2024
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This particular query came (stop it) during a recent interview with Variety where Daniel Craig asked if a shot of sheets stained with semen was kept in the final cut’s establishing scene.David Opie, IndieWire, 7 Dec. 2024
Noun
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There were also no visible specks of spices like the Shamrock nog.Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 11 Dec. 2024
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But a break in the case finally came in 2002 when the Contra Costa County forensic lab matched DNA in Kemp’s hair with the genetic makeup of a speck of blood found on one of Wiltsey’s fingernails.Jason Green, The Mercury News, 10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Duroc ham has a deep red color and lots of marbling, resulting in tender, flavorful meat.Carrie Honaker, Southern Living, 11 Dec. 2024
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Dunk them into a water marbling bath, then paint the tops metallic and add a satin bow to hang them.Amy Panos, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The horse chestnut leaf blotch pathogen overwinters as fruiting bodies in leaves infected during the previous season.Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2024
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This fungal disease appears as gray blotches on the bark, eventually developing into sunken cankers.Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Straight from the hotel docks, our captain showed us around the various villas and properties dotted around the lake, peppering in some historical and pop-culture factoids, like how the idyllic Villa Balbianello was featured in the Star Wars prequel films.Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 7 Dec. 2024
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Colleagues in the main lab were peppering her with questions about what to do about another batch of tests that appeared to have failed.Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Dapple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dapple. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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