Meaning & use
speckled
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Covered with lots of tiny spots or flecks, usually in a different color from the background.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a speckled egg, or the stone is speckled.
Patterns
- speckled with something
- a speckled surface
The thrush laid a pale blue egg that was speckled with brown.
Her face was speckled with freckles after a week in the sun.
We walked across speckled granite floors.
Common combinations
- speckled egg
- The nest held three speckled eggs.
- speckled with
- The sky was speckled with stars.
- speckled feathers
- The hen has speckled feathers.
- speckled hen
- A speckled hen scratched in the yard.
- speckled trout
- We caught a speckled trout in the stream.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spotted
- Spotted usually suggests larger, more distinct spots, while speckled means smaller and finer marks.
- flecked
- Flecked is a close synonym but often sounds more literary and is used with colors in fabric or hair.
- dappled
- Dappled describes patches of light and shade, such as sunlight through leaves, rather than tiny dots.
- mottled
- Mottled means marked with irregular blotches of different shades, usually larger than specks.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: speckled or striped?
speckled vs striped
Striped means marked with long bands, while speckled means tiny scattered dots.
Practice
The painter flicked tiny drops of white onto the blue wall, leaving it ___.
Choose one answer.
Tiny scattered drops make a speckled surface. Striped needs lines, and the other words describe different qualities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “speckled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.