low-resolution
Americanadjective
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Explanation
The adjective low-resolution describes a blurry or pixelated image, or the technology used to produce it. Your low-resolution printer is not the tool you need to print out a poster-sized photo of your cat. High-resolution digital cameras can produce a sharply defined, clear image, even when you zoom in on it to make a small detail much larger. By contrast, a low-resolution camera can't achieve that much detail without losing those sharp edges. A low-resolution (or "low-res") photograph quickly becomes blurred and imprecise. This word arose from computer lingo, though the "effect of an optical instrument" meaning of resolution dates from the 19th century.
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.
Unfortunately, episodes of “Wishbone” aren’t available to stream, though low-resolution uploads of episodes can be found on YouTube, or you can buy used “Wishbone” VHS tapes or DVDs online.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
No obvious damage has been observed to the base from the low-resolution satellite imagery we have available.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
Since the mundane is where most of us live, futurists have failed to deliver even a low-resolution picture of the world in 10 or 50 years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 30, 2025
Square Enix took the low-resolution prerendered dioramas of the original game — gorgeous in their own right — and zoomed in, stratifying them with detail and depth, adding craggy peaks, dense jungles and sun-baked deserts.
From New York Times • Feb. 22, 2024
The embedded color images are low-resolution; click on an image to load a high-resolution version.
From Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution (Volume I) by Lindley, Augustus F.
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.
