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Synonyms

grainy

American  
[grey-nee] / ˈgreɪ ni /

adjective

grainier, grainiest

  1. resembling grain; granular.

  2. full of grains grain or grain.

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

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

grainy British  
/ ˈɡreɪnɪ /

adjective

  1. resembling, full of, or composed of grain; granular

  2. resembling the grain of wood, leather, etc

  3. photog having poor definition because of large grain size

"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

Other Word Forms

  • graininess noun

Etymology

Origin of grainy

First recorded in 1605–15; grain + -y 1

Explanation

Something that's grainy feels rough to the touch, as though it's made of many tiny pieces. A piece of rough sandpaper feels grainy. Cornmeal is grainy, and your floor will feel grainy under your bare feet after your family returns from the beach with sand on their shoes. Grainy things are gritty, textured with little bumps or grains. You'll be disappointed if your birthday cake has a grainy texture. The earliest, thirteenth-century meaning of grainy was "scarlet dye," a result of its Old French root, which had several meanings including "seed" and "berry." The Latin origin is granum, "seed, grain, or small kernel."

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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.

This is the modern American gothic: grainy photos taken on a MacBook of a teenage girl in a camouflage jacket, holding a gun, and posted on Tumblr.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

The grainy black-and-white footage beamed back from the Apollo missions transformed the dream of space into a reality.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

In an apparent attempt to introduce him to the wider public, Iran’s state media on Thursday released a grainy, undated video that shows Khamenei giving a religious lesson.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

One frame from the grainy footage was digitally altered using artificial intelligence, AI experts told AFP.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

There was movement above me and I saw, like in a grainy movie, a humanoid figure silhouetted by the moon.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

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.