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Glite Dictionary
🎨 To spot with color 🟡 A colored spot
to dapple

to dapple

5 7.2
To make small spots of a different color on something
  • verb
  • /ˈdæpəl/
translation icon : moteado
  • When she reached the pond, she found it peaceful, dappled with sunlight and windblown leaves.

Examples

  • The flow of the sun-dappled water over submerged stones and branches was gently hypnotic.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • When she reached the pond, she found it peaceful, dappled with sunlight and windblown leaves.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • When I met you on that sun-dappled June afternoon - at the Waffle House...

    What Men Want (2019)

  • Sun slanted down through the trees, dappling the ground and the rock on which she sat.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The sky darkened, and tiny stars dappled lights across the deep blue night.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Light fell through the overhead canopy of leaves, dappling the mossy ground with green, shifting shapes.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Two spruce trees, bent by winds into a canopy, dappled the ground with shade.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The grounds were immaculately groomed and, true to the name, dappled by the shade of old oak trees.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Isabelle sat among the roses, her dove-grey gown dappled with sunlight, her open sketchbook in her lap.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The sunlight dappled the forest floor, creating a beautiful pattern of light and shadow.

Synonyms

to spot
vsto dapple
46 2.2

To make a small mark or stain on something

emphasizes decorative color differences rather than mere stains or identification
to splash
vsto dapple
16 4.1

To put patches of color on a surface

implies smaller, more natural-looking patches instead of large patches
to speckle
vsto dapple
15 3.9

To cover something with many small spots of a different color

creates larger, clearer patches rather than numerous tiny dots
to fleck
vsto dapple
10 6.0

To mark a surface with small spots of color or light

creates more obvious, larger patches instead of very small marks
to mottle
vsto dapple
3 8.0

To make something have uneven spots or patches of color

focuses more narrowly on distinct spots or patches rather than streaks
to blotch
vsto dapple
2 5.3

To mark something with irregular spots of a different color

uses gentler, decorative patches rather than heavy stained marks
to splotch
vsto dapple
2 6.7

To put uneven marks of color or liquid on a surface

applies color as intentional patches rather than accidental liquid marks
to speck
vsto dapple
1 5.6

To mark something with small spots

forms visible patches rather than mere tiny scattered dots
to parti-color
vsto dapple
  • Archaic
9.6

To decorate something with patches of different colors

is more about random patches of shade than designed multicolor patterns
to harlequin
vsto dapple
  • Archaic
9.9

To cover something with patches of different colors

is less patterned and more subtle, showing gentle shaded patches
to smatter color
vsto dapple
  • US
9.1

To put small spots of color over a surface like a shirt or wall

places emphasis on distinct spots or patches rather than general scattering
to bespeckle
vsto dapple
9.6

To mark something with small spots

uses broader, more noticeable patches instead of tiny specks

Compounds

dapple-gray
  • US
8.0

An animal, often a horse, with a gray coat and darker gray spots

How Spotted

to mottle
3 8.0
to blotch
2 5.3
to dapple
5 7.2
to speckle
15 3.9
to spot
46 2.2

Surface Forms

dapple infinitive
dappled past
dappled past participle
dappling present participle
dapples third person singular

Etymology

Dapple comes from an old English word dap meaning 'spot' or 'patch'. So to dapple something is to mark it with small spots or patches, like sunlight making bright and dark areas on the ground.