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

Also quiet, if more dramatic, is “March Morning,” in which daybreak begins to dapple beads of light on a still-dark ocean.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2022

By contrast, Domon Ken’s “Mr. and Mrs. Kotani: Survivors of the Atomic Bomb” from 1957 depicts parents and a chubby baby, smiling widely despite the scars that dapple Mr. Kotani’s face.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2019

She found Strong Belwas eating grapes, as Barristan Selmy watched a stableboy cinch the girth on his dapple grey.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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

More open compositions such as “Inlet” neatly mirror sky and water, but Dellario seems most at home under tree cover, where light dapples rather than glares.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2022

It sets apart the mansion, reveals its layered additions, dapples the Frick in shade.

From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2014

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

Yet the result was a unique, multi-faceted sculptural adornment to Central Park that still shimmers compellingly in the dappled light of springtime, while convincingly elevating architecture to the status of fine art.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Over the past two years, Johnson has become a minority owner of multiple horses, including Sandman, a $1.2 million, dappled gray thoroughbred who competed in last year’s Derby.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

In a woodland glade, in dappled sunshine, Sharron and Glen Markey are arm-in-arm beside the tree they planted in memory of their beloved 17-year-old daughter, Helena, their only child.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 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

Its dappled, highcrowned roadways make safe homes for birds; quick squirrels run the veins of its treasure-giving hand; but the ground below is dead.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner

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

She catches sight of me and smiles, sunlight dappling her skin.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish