grainy

[ grey-nee ]

/ ˈgreɪ ni /

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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.

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Origin of grainy

First recorded in 1605–15; grain + -y¹

OTHER WORDS FROM grainy

grain·i·ness, noun

Words nearby grainy

grain of salt, grain refiner, grains, grains of paradise, grain sorghum, grainy, grallatorial, gralloch, gram, grama, gramadan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grainy in a sentence

We were exposed to classic road races like Paris-Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo via weather-beaten magazines and grainy VHS tapes.
My Dad’s Last Tour de France|Ian Dille|June 28, 2021|Outside Online
His presentation included a number of grainy-emails-with-block-yellow-highlighting graphics that are useful for both validating claims and leveraging the aesthetic of a piece of evidence from a criminal trial.
Two weeks later, Tucker Carlson’s attack on Fauci has quietly collapsed|Philip Bump|June 16, 2021|Washington Post
It’s impossible to save these grainy signals onto normal hard drives without losing information that’s vital for doing interferometry.
Quantum Double-Slit Experiment Offers Hope for Earth-Size Telescope|Thomas Lewton|May 5, 2021|Quanta Magazine
I’ve shot a ton of clear photos of my kids in my dimly-lit house with it and can easily bring out the shadows in Adobe Lightroom to reveal details, which don’t get too grainy or pixelated.
The Fuji X100V Is My New Favorite Adventure Camera|Jakob Schiller|May 5, 2021|Outside Online

Still, the grainy image was somehow detailed enough for a total stranger to decipher the hiker’s exact location.
A hiker was lost and desperate. A stranger with an unusual hobby saved him.|Sydney Page|April 22, 2021|Washington Post
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
My favorite began with a grainy black and white shot of a large snowdrift.
Nationalism on Four Wheels|Clive Irving|October 18, 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
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
It is at this point that crystallization begins, and the fondant, instead of being creamy, will become grainy.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
Tau dug further into his kit, brought out the vial of white powder with its grainy lumps.
Voodoo Planet|Andre Norton
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

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 forms of grainy

graininess, 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

grainy

Origin of grainy

OTHER WORDS FROM grainy

Words nearby grainy

Words related to grainy

How to use grainy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for grainy

Derived forms of grainy