grainy

adjective

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\ ˈgrā-nē

grainier; grainiest

Definition of grainy

1 : resembling or having some characteristic of grain : not smooth or fine

2 of a photograph : appearing to be composed of grain-like particles

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Synonyms & Antonyms for grainy

Synonyms

Antonyms

Examples of grainy in a Sentence

The mustard has a grainy texture. grainy sand kept it off the rankings as one of the nation's best beaches

Recent Examples on the Web It People watched the grainy elevator footage over and over again looking for hints as to what could have happened: Why doesn't the elevator go up once she's pushed the buttons? — Shannon Carlin, refinery29.com, "The Uncomfortable History Behind The Viral Video From Netflix’s The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel," 15 Feb. 2021 Florence likes to add a swirl of grainy mustard at the end. — Paul Stephen, ExpressNews.com, "Recipe: Tyler Florence’s Mashed Potatoes," 18 Nov. 2020 His decision preserved a slightly grainy but little-seen window into the budding start of one of the NBA’s most iconic careers. — Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, "Remembering Kobe: The 1996 pre-draft workout nobody believed," 25 Jan. 2021 Our only problem was the cinnamon did not dissolve in the hot water, leaving the cocoa with a slightly grainy texture. — cleveland, "Hot chocolate, anyone? We tasted and ranked 61 cocoa mixes from grocery stores," 11 Dec. 2020 With the help of facial recognition, even a grainy image captured on a security camera or social-media account can lead investigators to a suspect who might otherwise have gone undetected. — Libor Jany, Star Tribune, "Proposed ban on use of facial recognition technology by police advances in Minneapolis," 21 Jan. 2021 Special video effects in the show include period photographs and even some grainy old war film footage. — Christopher Arnott, courant.com, "Playhouse on Park’s ‘All is Calm’ a warm, moving portrayal of 1914 Christmas Truce," 22 Dec. 2020 In a grainy video released Thursday, hours before the boys were freed, hostages said that some of their classmates had died during their captivity. — Gbenga Akingbule, WSJ, "Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolboys Set to Reunite With Families," 18 Dec. 2020 There is video from the scene of Rice’s shooting and, while grainy, clearly shows the two officers pulling up and firing their guns at a child within seconds of arriving. — refinery29.com, "What Excuse Does The Justice Department Have For Not Charging Tamir Rice’s Killers?," 30 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grainy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.