1
: any of numerous usually cloudy and rounded spots or patches of a color or shade different from their background
2
: the quality or state of being dappled
3
: a dappled animal
dappled; dappling
ˈda-p(ə-)liŋ 
: to mark with dapples
: to produce a dappled pattern
sun dappling through trees
Synonyms
Examples of dapple in a Sentence
Noun
the clouds threw dapples of shadow over the eerily quiet street
Verb
sunlight dappled the canopy of vines over our heads
Recent Examples on the Web
Ashley Strickland, CNN, 1 Oct. 2024
In the prelude to a November ballot featuring the candidate synonymous with polarization, all the dapple and nuance of life is once again being reduced to a binary.
—Karl Vick, TIME, 2 July 2024
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Dec. 2024
The quote by Virginia Woolf glared as a harbinger to the gender studies motifs dappled throughout the two-hour Taylor Swift course taught at Northeastern University by Catherine Fairfield.
—Bryan West, The Tennessean, 4 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dapple 
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.
Noun
The small spaces between leaves will dapple patterns of the eclipse phase on the ground.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 1 Oct. 2024
In the prelude to a November ballot featuring the candidate synonymous with polarization, all the dapple and nuance of life is once again being reduced to a binary.
—Karl Vick, TIME, 2 July 2024
Verb
All have green leaves dappled with white, yellow, or pale green.
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Dec. 2024
The quote by Virginia Woolf glared as a harbinger to the gender studies motifs dappled throughout the two-hour Taylor Swift course taught at Northeastern University by Catherine Fairfield.
—Bryan West, The Tennessean, 4 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dapple
Dictionary Entries Near dapple
Cite this Entry
“Dapple.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dapple. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share