verb (used with object),pix·el·at·ed,pix·el·at·ing.
in computer graphics and digital photography, to cause (an image) to break up into pixels, as by overenlarging the image: When enlarging a photograph, first increase the resolution to avoid pixelating it.
to blur (parts of a digital image) by creating unclear, pixel-like patches, for purposes of censorship or to maintain the anonymity of the subject: Police have asked the media to pixelate the faces of the men who were taken into custody.
verb (used without object),pix·el·at·ed,pix·el·at·ing.
(of a computer graphic or other digital image) to break up into visible pixels: We tried to watch the old, scratched DVD, but the image pixelated before our eyes.
Also especially British, pix·el·late.Sometimes pix·i·late.
"mildly insane, bewildered, tipsy," 1848, pix-e-lated, from pixie + -lated, as in elated, etc., perhaps influenced by or a variant of pixie-led. A New England dialect word popularized 1936 by its use in movie "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town."
