pixelate

American  

[pik-suh-leyt] / ˈpɪk səˌleɪt /

especially British, pixellate sometimes pixilate

verb (used with object)

pixelated, pixelating

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.

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verb (used without object)

pixelated, pixelating

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 British  

/ ˈpɪksɪˌleɪt /

verb

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

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Other Word Forms

• pixelation noun
• pixelization noun

Etymology

Origin of pixelate

pixel + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Teng worries that she will have to pixelate the gruesome scene to protect the dignity of the children.

From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026

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 • Oct. 20, 2023

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 • May 21, 2022

It was the last day of January, summer in Australia, and the shorn barley and wheat fields we’d driven past had seemed to pixelate in the bright afternoon sunlight.

From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2018

The alien video-game creatures pixelate everything they touch.

From Washington Times • Jul. 22, 2015