as in blotch
a small area that is different (as in color) from the main part a tie having eyespots of blue on a light gray background

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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 eyespot Peacock butterflies are distinguished by a series of striking eyespots on their wings, which serve to threaten or confuse potential predators. Michael Franco, New Atlas, 21 Sep. 2024 But why did some lineages evolve shell eyes rather than eyespots? Quanta Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 First, red eyespots appear; then the amorphous bodies coalesce and darken into their ferocious adult forms. Nala Rogers, Popular Mechanics, 9 Aug. 2023 Their long hindwing tails and eyespots combine to give them a look resembling an elephant’s face. Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 18 July 2023 First, Rowland and her co-author trained chicks to attack a mealworm hidden behind a paper printout of two eyespots at the end of a runway. Maddie Bender, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2023 Lacewings are among the first creatures known to have had eyespots. Jakob Vinther, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2017 Perhaps the most dramatic pattern to emerge during this time was the eyespot, a marking that resembles the eye of a different kind of animal and serves to startle predators approaching their prey at speed from a distance. Jakob Vinther, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2017 Normally, the eyespot fades as the fish matures. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 23 Aug. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for eyespot
Noun
  • Coronal holes may superficially appear to be similar to sunspots, as both appear as dark blotches on our star.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
  • Both have gray-brown bodies with a smattering of lighter cream and darker brown blotches.
    Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Staying on the inside and always try to be inside the dot defensively.
    Shayna Goldman, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025
  • The sites hawk their wares with scientific specificity: microprinting in dots per inch, card thickness in micrometers (polycarbonate stock for that stiff, authentic feel) and various types of laminates.
    Kaja Andric, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • What sets Friedrich apart from everyone else is that solitary human being and his dual nature: both a tiny speck in the universe and the center of it all.
    Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
  • One of them shows the moon from a distance—a tiny white speck in a sea of black—and the other captures the lander’s hardware with a view of the moon in the background.
    Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Cultural burning on a Juncus patches is usually for weavers.
    Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Eddie Murphy, who once rescued Saturday Night Live during a rough patch in the 1980s, rescued a sketch in the show’s 50th anniversary special with a note-perfect imitation of Tracy Morgan.
    Dade Hayes, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The song structures melt into goo; the lyrics pelt flecks of raw feeling.
    Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 3 Dec. 2024
  • Each light is attached to a green string to easily blend into your tree, and once the lights are turned on, the liquid inside each bulb bubbles to reveal floating flecks of gold glitter to make your tree shine.
    Kaitlin Gates, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near eyespot

Cite this Entry

“Eyespot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eyespot. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.

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