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

In a majority-white area of Silver Lake — where median household income is more than $98,000 a year and mature trees dapple the hilly streets with shade — the surface temperature was 96.4 degrees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2021

Selmy fell in beside her on his dapple grey.

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

The subtlest animation looks the best, especially when sunlight dapples upon fur or felines flex their claws to assert power.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024

Her voice shines like dapples of pale moonlight, and is especially arresting in moments of ambling melancholy.

From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2021

The female is so dark I thought she was the male until early morning light picked out the faintest dapples on her breast.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 13, 2020

The way the sun dapples on the buildings near her Garment District office is something to see, she said.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2012

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

Filming in woods near Nara, and then in the Komyoji forest in Kyoto prefecture, Miyagawa created a latticework of sunlight with tree branches and leaves forming a living carpet of dappled shadows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

The special habitat's twisted branches, dappled light and moss-covered understorey once covered much of the country, but is now only found in isolated areas including the Woodland Trust's Coed Felenrhyd near Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd.

From BBC ● May 18, 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

Sunlight dappled the graves under a towering magnolia tree during the flag-planting ceremony on Feb. 14.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024

Ser Rodrik waited in the market astride his dappled gelding.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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

Holding up a colander can also project the partial eclipse onto the ground, as can looking at sunlight dappling through a tree’s leaves, or through your fingers aligned perpendicularly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2024

The first birds are starting to twitter sleepily in the branches above us, and the only color so early is the first bits of scarlet dappling the trees.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish