adjective
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of, like, containing, or resembling a granule or granules
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having a grainy or granulated surface
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of granular
Explanation
Something granular has a grainy texture. Granular sugar is the white kind you find in sugar bowls, and a sandy beach is very granular, too. Anything that's made of tiny bits like sand or grain can be called granular. In fact, it comes from the Latin word granum for "grain." Granular things can also be described as coarse and gritty. A smooth, shiny floor is the opposite of granular. When you see the word granular, think “grain of sand.” Or — “grain of sugar” if that’s more your style.
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.
OpenAI later said it would give rights holders more granular controls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
And it does seem like a steep sentence, for contact that wasn’t even given a yellow card at first, and which, when decelerated in granular slow-mo, looks worse than it actually was.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Meanwhile, racism and discrimination must be treated as a critical safety issue, the inquiry found, requiring urgent intervention including gathering granular data on unequal outcomes that is escalated to board level when patterns emerge.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
"Our entangled granular material using the staple-like particle demonstrates both high strength and toughness at the same time," said PhD student Saeed Pezeshki.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026
Ed McMillan had staged the Rad Lab’s most determined search for the isotope by propping a bottle of granular ammonium nitrate in the path of the thirty-seven-inch machine’s neutron beam for several months.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
