mottled
/ˈmɑt əld/adjective, verb
mottled is spelled M-O-T-T-L-E-D: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, mottled means “Colored in patches; spotted” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in mottled?
| Letters | 7: M-O-T-T-L-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,863rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is mottled?
Mottled appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mottled?
- US /ˈmɑt əld/
Mottled has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mottled.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of mottled
- more mottled comparative
- most mottled superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mottled mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Colored in patches; spotted.
The mottled skin of the snake was a camouflage that helped it blend in with the shadows.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of mottle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mottled in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense spotted:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tacheté, marbré |
| German | gesprenkelt, gefleckt, meliert, marmoriert, fleckig |
| Portuguese | malhado, manchado |
| Spanish | moteado, manchado, jaspeado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mottled come from?
1670-80 mottle + -ed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).