dotted 1 of 2

adjective

as in colored
marked with spots a dotted tie that didn't go with his striped shirt at all

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dotted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of dot
1
as in sprinkled
to cover by or as if by scattering something over or on a hillside dotted with wildflowers

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in flecked
to mark with small spots especially unevenly the practice of some chefs of positioning a small portion of food in the center and dotting the rest of the plate with sauce

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dotted
Adjective
Visual cues are both stripped down and strangely compelling, like the dotted line that runs from Nancy’s eyes to indicate her gaze. — Air Mail, 3 Oct. 2026 Peghah Maleknejad, fashion director of Hero and Heroine Magazine, bought the dotted mesh long dress for $359 on her phone while waiting for the Alainpaul show to start. — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026 To reduce confusion, the top plate has a dotted pattern around each key position that can accept a magnetic switch. — Francisco Lahoz, PC Magazine, 12 Sep. 2026 The black dotted forecast line shows the multi-model median whereas the surrounding range shows the 25th–75th percentiles. — Deena Zaidi, CNBC, 6 Sep. 2026 For an easy finishing touch, toss a dotted floral throw pillow onto your sofa or bed to bring in warmer tones and cozier textures. — Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 16 Aug. 2026 The dotted centers of the doodle-looking flowers were instead clusters of spotlights that could point in different directions. — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 3 Aug. 2026 O’Connell Marsh will report to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO Continental Europe, with a dotted line to Jens Richter, CEO Commercial and International, and will sit on the Global Leadership Team. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 31 July 2026 On one of the surviving Ottoman maps of Athens, it’s indicated by a dotted line, a marking that also indicated what is believed to have been a plan of underground tunnels below the citadel. — Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
Verb
The unpretentious city is dotted with temporary staffing agencies, money-wiring businesses and Mexican restaurants. — Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, 14 Oct. 2026 At the opposite end, the sundeck is dotted with sun loungers, a bar, and a dining table. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 12 Oct. 2026 The storm made landfall Friday near Destin, Florida, a Gulf Coast area known for powdery white-sand beaches and dotted with vacation homes, waterfront bars, and seafood shacks. — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026 The low-lying coastal area is known for its powdery white sand beaches dotted with vacation homes, waterfront bars and seafood shacks. — Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, the surrounding villages are dotted with destination restaurants, including Osip, a farm-to-table restaurant, Holm, and Margot Henderson’s Three Horseshoes. — Air Mail, 10 Oct. 2026 Such parties, often thrown by the grandes dames of Washington in their palaces dotted around town, were an opportunity for political rivals to meet in fizzing comity over catered meals and coupes of Bollinger. — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 8 Oct. 2026 The highway running parallel to Gaza, where militants gunned down people trying to flee, is dotted with memorials. — Cara Anna, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026 These arid plains dotted with date palms were once full of natural lakes and lush pastures on which local inhabitants roamed and grazed their livestock. — Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dotted
  1. colored
  2. sprinkled
  3. flecked
  4. spotted
  5. sprayed
  6. stained
  7. speckled
  8. peppered
Adjective
  • Vivier’s signature buckle can be rendered in gold or silver, with colored brass available on select styles.
    — Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Its cyan-colored vehicles will compete with Ubers, Lyfts and autonomous taxis to shuttle customers across busy streets and freeways.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of colored
Verb
  • There’s Ellipse, a lineup of sculptural gold links sprinkled with diamond pavé; Modern Pavé, with its playful arrangements of diamonds; and SIX by Royal Asscher, an exclusive collection with the legendary Dutch diamond-cutting house.
    — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The Fort Worth list indicates restaurants mostly downtown, the Shops at Clearfork and a few sprinkled in the Stockyards.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of sprinkled
Verb
  • The pillowy dough is flecked with cinnamon and crowded with tender chunks of apple.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Mikey Madison’s pink- and purple-flecked tinsel became one of the defining beauty details of Ani in 2024’s Anora, while Zara Larsson has made shimmering, maximalist hair a fixture of her Midnight Sun era.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of flecked
Adjective
  • Other invasive plants including Tree of Heaven, the host plant for the highly invasive spotted lanternfly, has been found in The Preserve as well.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Because spotted skunks are relatively rare in California wildlife rehabilitation centers and in the surrounding area, there were no other skunks of his kind available to keep him company.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026
Definition of spotted
Verb
  • Prosecutors say Campbell then sprayed Mobley with mace and stabbed him in the neck.
    — Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The shared affinity was clear in the celebration, as Mesa sprayed Cash with alcohol, and Vilade and Erik Neander, the team’s president of baseball operations, embraced while Vilade was interviewed.
    — Nicolas Villamil, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of sprayed
Verb
  • Bookshelves are crammed with novels and almanacs, the wood boards of the ceilings stained dark in delicious contrast to the clean white walls and creamy linen furnishings.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The yellow color from the fenbendazole stained his white goatee.
    — Trisha Thadani Kirsten Potter Tanya Pérez Devin Murphy, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of stained
Adjective
  • Smith hung an oversized Nelson Angled Sphere Bubble Pendant above a custom teak bed with a speckled bouclé headboard and a drapey saffron velvet coverlet for a tranquil effect.
    — Morgan Goldberg, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Another look came in the form of Oxford pumps with a speckled calf-hair finish and red linear detailing.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of speckled
Verb
  • The attendees also peppered Talarico with questions about voter ID and the national debt.
    — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Surprising, quirky additions are peppered throughout, such as a small trompe l’oeil ceiling fresco of a conservatory roof, complete with climbing roses and birds.
    — Julia Wytrazek, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of peppered

Browse Nearby Words

dots
dotted
dottiness
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Cite this Entry

“Dotted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dotted. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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