mottle

American  

[mot-l] / ˈmɒt l /

verb (used with object)

mottled, mottling

1. to mark or diversify with spots or blotches of a different color or shade.

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noun

1. a diversifying spot or blotch of color.

2. mottled coloring or pattern.

mottle British  

/ ˈmɒtəl /

verb

1. (tr) to colour with streaks or blotches of different shades

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noun

1. a mottled appearance, as of the surface of marble

2. one streak or blotch of colour in a mottled surface

Other Word Forms

• mottlement
  noun
• mottler
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of mottle

First recorded in 1670–80; probably back formation from motley

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Explanation

To mottle is to speckle or dapple with dots. An artist might mottle a canvas by dripping splotches of paint on it. You can also use mottle as a noun, for a patchy arrangement of color or light: "The dog's fur was a mottle of brown and black." The adjective mottled is more common than mottle for describing things marked with spots or blotches, and both words come from motley, which today means "mismatched" but was originally defined as "multicolored."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mottle mottled mottling

But many sites use something called “pepper mild mottle virus,” a virus that infects pepper plants.

From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2024

On Jan. 2, nurses reported that the patient’s breathing was shallower, with her toes beginning to mottle as her heart stopped pumping blood that far down.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 3, 2023

Then there was the salt: sprinkled generously enough to mottle the fry’s golden skin and amplify the earthy flavors trapped inside.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 7, 2022

The online class from 12:30-2:15 p.m. will cover identification of blossom brown rot, bacterial canker, cherry mottle leaf, shothole, cherry bark tortrix and tent caterpillar.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2021

I will mottle my face and wear a hump and be spurned outright.

From Mistress Penwick by Dutton Payne

Elsewhere it’s mottled and reddish, as if made of clay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

He cuts one open to show me the inside, mottled brown and floury.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Soon enough, trees everywhere were showing blotchy, mottled, yellowed leaves and suffering from twig dieback and sparse foliage.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

Bartram's bass display a light golden color with dark brown blotches along their sides, a mottled belly, and fins with a rosy tint.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 23, 2026

The columns themselves were the same stone as the walls and mottled with dark splotches.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Mr Johnson said there was no corresponding doctor's note for this examination of "mottling".

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2023

On the morning of Jan. 3, the patient showed more signs of mottling and had instances of apnea where she stopped breathing.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 3, 2023

Its bark has this gorgeous, highly fashionable camouflage mottling to it.

From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2022

The artist also calls attention to his presence by mottling the pigment and scratching into it.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 9, 2021

There was no dark mottling or crater chains in the position of most of his canals.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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