Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

brindled

American  
[brin-dld] / ˈbrɪn dld /

adjective

  1. gray or tawny with darker streaks or spots.


brindled British  
/ ˈbrɪndəld /

adjective

  1. brown or grey streaked or patched with a darker colour

    a brindled dog

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of brindled

1670–80; alteration of brinded, with -le perhaps from grizzled, speckled ( def. ), etc.

Explanation

Brindled refers to a pattern of brown or gray markings or streaks on an animal. Patches is a perfect name for the brindled puppy you adopted from the shelter. A brindled French bulldog named "I'm on Fire" was a group winner at the 2010 Westminster Dog Show. Other breeds of dogs that may have brindled coats include pit bulls, boxers and bull mastiffs, but you can use this word to describe cats, pigs and horses as well. Brindled is a Middle English word related to the word burn and has come to mean the streaky brown and gray color of something burned.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing brindled

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Therein, they argue that the Brindled wildebeest is actually a complex containing four species that can be reliably distinguished on the basis of cranial morphometrics.

From Scientific American • Feb. 26, 2014

Anatomical weirdness of the Brindled wildebeest: a down-flexed face, and all those black vertical folds that you haven't paid attention to before.

From Scientific American • Feb. 26, 2014

Brindled wildebeest were more widespread in the recent past than they are today.

From Scientific American • Feb. 26, 2014

Brindled wildebeest of Namibia: note the black facial hair and beard... and is that dorsal mane erect, or just blowing in the wind?

From Scientific American • Feb. 26, 2014

You want to go now as much as before you went to the Brindled Cow, and I am the only person in the world that can help you do it.'

From Yellow-Cap and Other Fairy-Stories For Children by Hawthorne, Julian