grainy

[grey-nee]

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.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for grainy

Contemporary Examples

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
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
My favorite began with a grainy black and white shot of a large snowdrift.
Nationalism on Four Wheels
Clive Irving
October 18, 2014
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
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

Historical Examples

Perhaps they'd domineer less if we left 'em take their own grainy ways.
Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays
Various
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
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

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

adj.

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

grainy

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}grainy

Examples from the Web for grainy

Contemporary Examples

He frets about how identifiable he is in the grainy footage.

Good news: so is this grainy TMZ footage of a Bieber/Bloom Ibiza brawl.

My favorite began with a grainy black and white shot of a large snowdrift.

They are grainy, low-resolution black-and-white pictures, more scruff than science.

Upon closer inspection, the image, taken in Vietnam in 1972, is grainy, almost hazy.

Historical Examples

Perhaps they'd domineer less if we left 'em take their own grainy ways.

Stirring it even a little is apt to start crystallization and the candy will then be grainy instead of creamy.

Tau dug further into his kit, brought out the vial of white powder with its grainy lumps.

There he hid everything the leather bag had contained excepting the grainy powder.

The ink was a pale blue in places, deepening to a strong blue in other places, with grainy blue specks.

grainy

Word Origin and History for grainy

adj.

Origin of grainy