adjective
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of, like, containing, or resembling a granule or granules
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having a grainy or granulated surface
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of granular
Explanation
Something granular has a grainy texture. Granular sugar is the white kind you find in sugar bowls, and a sandy beach is very granular, too. Anything that's made of tiny bits like sand or grain can be called granular. In fact, it comes from the Latin word granum for "grain." Granular things can also be described as coarse and gritty. A smooth, shiny floor is the opposite of granular. When you see the word granular, think “grain of sand.” Or — “grain of sugar” if that’s more your style.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That granular data allows decisionmakers to allocate resources and target outreach to the areas with the highest need.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Glean’s Jain said the first step is investing in dashboards for extremely granular visibility into what everyone at the company is doing with AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Researchers from Japan’s Tohoku University published a granular investigation of California viticulture in a changing climate and found a redrawn map of prime wine regions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
They want to protect Schoenbrun’s film from the very analysis it’s encouraging, the deep, granular kind that causes all that subtext to fall apart.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
I add a slow release, granular fertilizer that I got Dell to buy at Home Depot.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
