A grainy photograph looks as if it is made up of lots of spots, which make the lines or shapes in it difficult to see.
...grainy black and white photos.
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Grainy means having a rough surface or texture, or containing small bits of something.
...the grainy tree trunk.
Do not use a grainy mustard.
grainy in British English
(ˈɡreɪnɪ)
adjectiveWord forms: grainier or grainiest
1.
resembling, full of, or composed of grain; granular
2.
resembling the grain of wood, leather, etc
3. photography
having poor definition because of large grain size
Derived forms
graininess (ˈgraininess)
noun
grainy in American English
(ˈgreɪni)
adjectiveWord forms: ˈgrainier or ˈgrainiest
1.
having a clearly defined grain
said of textures or surfaces, as of wood
2.
consisting of grains; coarsely textured; granular
Derived forms
graininess (ˈgraininess)
noun
Examples of 'grainy' in a sentence
grainy
The grainy photograph shows my car in the inside lane preparing to turn left.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It should be a slightly grainy texture.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Spanish police have posted the grainy image in local hotels.
The Sun (2011)
Now all he could do was watch the grainy images beamed back to us.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Through the grainy picture she could make out a naked Dent on a bed.
The Sun (2006)
Don't overdo it or the whites will go grainy.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The parsnips and potato will purée completely, but the beetroot always remains a little grainy.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Only a few grainy photographs of Zee.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The texture is more grainy, though it becomes runny next to the rind.
Smith, Drew Food Watch (1994)
The grainy film shows about 15 objects moving at high speed just beneath the surface of the lake.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
I did not recognise the man from the grainy image.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The quality varies as much as the content, ranging from grainy clips filmed with mobile phones to highly skilled animation.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The grainy images of troops waiting in line at Dunkirk beach for the small ships are now part of national memory.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
I now treasure the grainy picture.
The Sun (2016)
A generation has been up merely on stories of Best and grainy pictures.
The Sun (2008)
Her tragic death, poignantly captured on grainy mobile telephone footage, has flashed around the world.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Just don't complain if the soup has a weathered, grainy texture.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Their beautiful past is shot on grainy film; the ugly present in brutal video close-up.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
As a cast of characters for a suite of grainy, monochrome photographs, these subjects do well enough.
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
We have a Toronto court to thank for the massive and completely misleading exposure that the grainy security film that caused me to appear furtive has caused.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
His shrunken face stared out of the grainy picture, a tube protruding from his nose, his head without hair.