Skip to main content
flyspecked

flyspecked

1 7.2
Marked by many small dark spots left by flies
  • adjective
  • /ˈflaɪˌspɛkt/
: manchado
  • She gently brushed the flyspecked surface of the old table before setting down the vase.

Examples

  • The flyspecked fruit hung from the tree, a sign of the insects that had visited.

  • The flyspecked wall showed years of neglect and needed a fresh coat of paint.

  • Even as he watched, a flyspecked yellow school bus crammed with doughy, pasty-faced adults pulled up at the curb.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

speckled
vsflyspecked
13 2.8

Covered with many small spots of a different color

refers to spots without requiring a different colour, often insect stains
flecked
vsflyspecked
4 4.4

With small spots of a different color

refers to small specks but not mainly colour patches, often insect stains
specked
vsflyspecked
1 3.2

Covered with many small spots like drops of paint

focuses on spots often caused by flies rather than general marks
bespeckled
vsflyspecked
1 7.1

Having small spots on the surface

is the same but often implies spots made by insects
speckly
vsflyspecked
1 3.5

A surface with many small spots like dots on an egg or cloth

means spots too but often highlights quantity rather than origin

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Free from dirt or harmful things

40 2.5

Completely clean with no stains or dirt

How Spotted

flyspecked
1 7.2
speckled
13 2.8
blotched
1 6.7
stained
74 2.6
spotless
40 2.5

Surface Forms

flyspecked positive

Morphology

flyspecked = flyspeck (transparent) = flyspeck + ed

Formed from the noun 'flyspeck' plus the adjectival '-ed', yielding the literal meaning 'marked with tiny specks'.

Etymology

Flyspecked comes from the simple parts fly and speck, where speck means a 'small spot'. It makes you imagine something covered in tiny marks, often the little spots left by flies, which explains the meaning 'covered with small spots'.