grainy photo

Meaning

1. 1nouncountable

   A photograph that looks speckled or noisy, with visible dots or a rough texture, often taken in low light or with a high ISO setting.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a grainy photo' or 'grainy photos'.

   Patterns

   • a grainy photo of someone/something
   • take a grainy photo

   The concert was so dark that I ended up with a grainy photo of the band.

   She deleted the grainy photo because the noise made everyone look fuzzy.

   Even a grainy photo can capture a special moment.

Word forms

Common combinations

a grainy photo

He showed me a grainy photo of his old house.

look grainy

The picture looks grainy because the camera was set to a high ISO.

grainy and blurry

The security footage was grainy and blurry, so we couldn't identify the person.

slightly grainy

The image is only slightly grainy, so it's still usable.

Synonyms and how they differ

noisy

Used for digital images with random speckles; 'grainy' can also refer to film grain, while 'noisy' is more technical.

pixelated

Describes an image where individual pixels are visible, often from low resolution; 'grainy' is more about texture or film grain.

blurry

Means out of focus or smeared, not speckled; a photo can be both grainy and blurry.

Opposites

Word family

grain noun

The small speckles or texture that make a photo look grainy.

graininess noun

The quality of being grainy.

Commonly confused: grainy photo or blurry? grainy photo or grainy picture?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “grainy photo”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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