What does pixelate mean?
To pixelate is to represent an image, video, or graphic through enlarged or clearly visible pixels, reducing fine detail and sometimes giving the result a mosaic-like appearance. The word is especially common in digital media and technology, where reducing resolution can make a picture less clear or conceal a person or identifying feature. Pixelation may be an unavoidable consequence of poor resolution, but it can also be applied deliberately for privacy, safety, censorship, or artistic effect. The related adjective pixelated describes an image or piece of footage in which individual squares of color are obvious. The word is readily understood by general audiences and distinguishes digital-image processing from the general use of picture, although readers may sometimes encounter the alternative spelling pixellate.
verbTo convert an image, video, or graphic into a form composed of visible pixels, often by reducing its resolution or enlarging its pixels. It may also be used figuratively to describe making details indistinct in this way.
- To convert an image, video, or graphic into visible pixels, especially by reducing its resolution or enlarging its pixels.
- To render a person or detail indistinct through low-resolution or pixelated treatment.
"The broadcaster pixelated the footage before releasing it to the public."
"The artist pixelated the photograph and used it as the background for the poster."
"Editors pixelated the interviewee's face before the footage was published."
Pixelate turns the tiny building blocks of digital images into the point: a clear picture can become a mosaic of conspicuous squares.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pixelate come from?
Pixelate was formed in the mid-20th century by combining pixel with the suffix -ate, meaning “to make into” or “to render in a particular way.” Pixel itself was coined as a blend of picture and element and became established in digital imaging as the term for one of the colored squares into which an image is divided. Pixelate consequently came to mean “to turn an image into pixels” or “to give an image a visibly pixelated form.”
Related word forms
How pixelate is actually used
The term is used mainly for digital images, video, and graphics. In journalism and online communication, pixelated footage often indicates that identifying details have been obscured for privacy or legal reasons.
Easily confused with pixelate
Pixellate is a spelling variant of pixelate; both forms use two l's in the middle of the word.