pixilated

American  

[pik-suh-ley-tid] / ˈpɪk səˌleɪ tɪd /

Sometimes pixillated

adjective

1. slightly eccentric or mentally disordered.

2. amusingly whimsical, prankish, silly, or the like.

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pixilated British  

/ ˈpɪksɪˌleɪtɪd /

adjective

1. eccentric or whimsical

2. slang drunk

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Other Word Forms

• pixilation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pixilated

First recorded in 1840–50, pix(ie) + (tit)illated ( def. )

Explanation

Someone who's pixilated is a bit mischievous and eccentric, like the wacky man in your town who wears rainbow suspenders and breaks into pixilated dance routines in the middle of the library. It's easy to confuse pixilated with pixelated, which means "magnified so much that you can see each individual pixel." But instead of pixels, pixilated comes from pixies, the impish mythical spirits. Most experts believe that the word began as pixie-led, or "led astray by pixies." So if someone you know is acting as silly as if they're under the influence of pixies, you can call them pixilated.

Example Sentences

It was the sound of virtual ball breaking pixilated net.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

He had already spent hours that day on Zoom and, though I could feel his exhaustion through our pixilated connection, he was gracious.

From Salon • Sep. 27, 2020

“The IrisVision was too pixilated and the image ‘too big’ for me,” Rosenblum said, adding that her friend’s 91-year-old mother, who had macular degeneration, loved IrisVision.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 12, 2020

Invader, who defines himself as an UFA, an Unidentified Free Artist, wears a mask and insists on his face being pixilated for his rare appearances on camera.

From Reuters • Feb. 23, 2020

When he looked behind him and saw a wobbling, pixilated mass of men doing their best to imitate a line, he barked, “Follow me, hogs. Follow your C.O. and that is an order.”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy