grainy

[ grey-nee ]

/ ˈgreɪ ni /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grainy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, grain·i·er, grain·i·est.

resembling grain; granular.

full of grains or grain.

having a natural or simulated grain, as wood, wallpaper, etc.

Photography. (of a negative or positive) having a granular appearance.

Nearby words

grainger, grainger, percy aldridge, graining, grains, grains of paradise, grainy, grallatores, grallatorial, gralloch, gram, gram atom

Origin of grainy

First recorded in 1605–15; grain + -y¹

Related formsgrain·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for grainy

He frets about how identifiable he is in the grainy footage.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Good news: so is this grainy TMZ footage of a Bieber/Bloom Ibiza brawl.
Solange Smacks Jay Z, Legolas Slaps Bieber, and the Biggest Celebrity Feuds of the Year|Amy Zimmerman|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They are grainy, low-resolution black-and-white pictures, more scruff than science.
The USSR’s Race to the Moon’s Far Side|Matthew R. Francis|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Upon closer inspection, the image, taken in Vietnam in 1972, is grainy, almost hazy.
Photographer Raymond Depardon Captures the ‘Sweet Moments’|Sarah Moroz|November 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST

His death was eerily captured on a grainy black-and-white surveillance tape.
Serial Killer Targets Homeless Men in Orange County|Christine Pelisek|January 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There he hid everything the leather bag had contained excepting the grainy powder.
Mr. Wicker's Window|Carley Dawson
The ink was a pale blue in places, deepening to a strong blue in other places, with grainy blue specks.
Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective|Ellis Parker Butler
Livin' in a grist-mill, I presume, I git into a grainy way of lookin' at the world.
Rosin the Beau|Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
Stirring it even a little is apt to start crystallization and the candy will then be grainy instead of creamy.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
The spongy lead of the negative plate gradually assumes a "grainy" or "granulated" appearance.
The Automobile Storage Battery|O. A. Witte

British Dictionary definitions for grainy

grainy

/ (ˈɡreɪnɪ) /

adjective grainier or grainiest

resembling, full of, or composed of grain; granular

resembling the grain of wood, leather, etc

photog having poor definition because of large grain size

Derived Formsgraininess, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for grainy

grainy

adj.

1610s, from grain + -y (2). In Middle English, grain also was used as an adjective, "like grain, lumpy, spotted" (early 15c.).

grainy

adjective, grain·i·er, grain·i·est.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of grainy

Examples from the Web for grainy

British Dictionary definitions for grainy

grainy

adjective grainier or grainiest

Word Origin and History for grainy

grainy