dapple

So when the rain comes, it doesn't just dapple us with light sprinkles, it drops the heavier load of moisture that has been accumulating for a longer time.

From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2023

Gleaming spots caused by methane ice clouds in the planet's atmosphere dapple its lower half.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 20, 2022

A semicircular bar draws eyes to the center of the wood-paved interior, whose large windows dapple the tables with sunlight.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2022

In a majority-white area of Silver Lake — where median household income is more than $98,000 a year and mature trees dapple the hilly streets with shade — the surface temperature was 96.4 degrees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2021

He remembered the cheers of the Sons of the Six all around him, whooping and tossing their spears high as the first hints of true, unfiltered sunlight began to dapple the ground before them.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Does your manic pixie dream girl complex fantasize about an ethereal-looking stranger mesmerized in reverie as they gaze upon the dapples of fluorescent Tom Bradley terminal lights reflecting off this sumptuously swamp-hued fabric?

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2024

I like the little dapples of light, too.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2023

Pink natural light dapples a river in one composition, while reflections of house lamps streak a dark lake in another.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 17, 2021

Her voice shines like dapples of pale moonlight, and is especially arresting in moments of ambling melancholy.

From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2021

The sun shone down through the rustling of ferns and stunted cypress of the island in dapples of light and shadow.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

They would remain there, amid the dunes and dappled sunlight of Cape Cod’s hooked terminus, until Cook’s death in 2004.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

We can just make out stripy ears in the dappled shade inside the Scottish wildcat enclosure.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

Filming in woods near Nara, and then in the Komyoji forest in Kyoto prefecture, Miyagawa created a latticework of sunlight with tree branches and leaves forming a living carpet of dappled shadows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

If a political debate is your idea of a good time — rather than, say, sitting on the sugary sands of some beach watching a dappled sunset play on the water, more power to you!

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2024

Harry stared at the back of Firenze’s head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.

From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling

When you assemble the dessert into bowls and start dappling each island with caramel and toasted sliced almonds, your friends will begin to hover.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

"Wouldn't it be useful for English speakers to have a specific word for sunlight dappling through leaves... Or a word for the action of sitting outside enjoying a beer?"

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2025

I stepped through the door, surveying the late-summer light dappling the antique wood floors.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2024

Sports run through Pittsburgh the way its rivers do, dappling the city’s culture with hints of black and gold.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2024

His bristling golden side-whiskers framed a face so still it might have been a mask, but Tyrion could see tiny beads of sweat dappling his father's shaven head.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin