Meaning & use
flecked
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Meanings
adjectiveafter a verb
Dotted with small marks or spots of a different color.
Grammar: Often followed by with: flecked with gold.
Patterns
- flecked with something
Her eyes were green, flecked with brown.
The stone was flecked with tiny crystals.
His beard was flecked with gray.
adjectivebefore a noun
Sprinkled lightly with small bits of something else.
Grammar: Placed before a noun: flecked paint.
Patterns
- flecked with something
The soup was flecked with herbs.
The sea was flecked with white foam.
A flecked egg lay in the nest.
Common combinations
- flecked with gray
- His hair was flecked with gray.
- flecked with gold
- The sand was flecked with gold.
- flecked with foam
- The waves were flecked with foam.
- flecked with paint
- Her overalls were flecked with paint.
- a flecked pattern
- The fabric had a flecked pattern.
Synonyms and how they differ
- speckled
- Speckled is nearly the same but implies many small spots over the whole surface.
- spotted
- Spotted suggests larger or clearer spots than flecked.
- dappled
- Dappled stresses patches of light and shade.
- mottled
- Mottled describes uneven blotches rather than fine specks.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: flecked or flaked?
flecked vs flaked
Flaked means broken into thin pieces, while flecked means dotted with small marks.
Practice
Her dark hair was ___ with silver.
Choose one answer.
Flecked with means dotted with small marks. The others look similar but do not take with in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flecked”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.