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.
“He’s very, very gifted on a granular level as an actor.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The academic literature, he says, differentiates between “sympathy, empathy, compassion, kindness. There are very small, granular differences between each. Empathy itself has 43 different definitions.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 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
The result was a granular metamaterial capable of responding differently to slow movements and sudden impacts.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
Sandwiches arrived from outside, strange granular bread, the butter on it liquid, some sort of beige meat paste that hinted of ptomaine.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
