pixelate

[ pik-suh-leyt ]

verb (used with object)

, pix·el·at·ed, pix·el·at·ing.

1. 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.

2. 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.

1. (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.

pixelate

/ ˈpɪksɪˌleɪt /

verb

1. to blur (a video image) by overlaying it with a grid of squares, usually to disguise the identity of a person

Derived Forms

• ˌpixeˈlation, noun

Other Words From

• pixel·ation pix·el·i·za·tion [pik-s, uh, -l, uh, -, zey, -sh, uh, n], especially British, pixel·lation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pixelate¹

pixel + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

In 1998, British producers Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling pioneered its modern usage by making Cher’s velvety contralto pixelate and reconstitute over and over, measure by measure, making history.

From Salon

Not until the crowd at Camden Yards stood and cheered him, until he paused and turned to watch them do it, did glimpses of a better future start to pixelate the present.

From Washington Post

Because the resolution on your spouse becomes clearer and clearer by the year, you must find compensatory ways to blur and pixelate them back into a soft, muted, faintly fantastical fog.

From New York Times

Toward the bottom, the stripes started to pixelate.

From New York Times

The version of Garamond most-often used on computers was created in the 1920s and can pixelate badly when zoomed in or out.

From Fox News