mottled

[ mot-ld ]

adjective

1. spotted or blotched in coloring.

mottled

/ ˈmɒtəld /

adjective

1. coloured with streaks or blotches of different shades

Other Words From

• un·mottled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mottled¹

First recorded in 1670–80; mottle + -ed ²

Example Sentences

As dawn breaks and dusk settles, the play of light and shadow turns the river green or gunmetal gray, lustrously pearlescent or mottled brown.

From Los Angeles Times

In 2001, there were only 62 mature Iberian lynx — medium-sized, mottled brown cats with characteristic pointed ears and a pair of beard-like tufts of facial hair — on the Iberian Peninsula.

From Seattle Times

He describes Christmas Lima beans, a colorful, mottled American variety popular in the Southwestern U.S., as a “gateway bean.”

From Salon

There's widespread scientific agreement that ingesting too much fluoride can cause teeth to have a mottled appearance or become pitted, a condition called dental fluorosis.

From Salon

They both have round heads, dark eyes, tiny beaks and bodies covered in mottled brown and white feathers.

From New York Times

Related Words

• marbled
• streaked