pixelate
pixelate Lexical Profile
pixelate Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To divide a digital image or video into a grid of visibly enlarged pixels, often deliberately to obscure someone's identity or censor sensitive content.
"The television producers decided to pixelate the faces of the bystanders before broadcasting the news segment."
To become blocky and indistinct with visible individual pixels (of a digital image or video stream), typically due to low resolution, excessive magnification, or poor signal quality.
"Whenever the internet connection slows down during a video call, the screen begins to pixelate and freeze."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'pixelate' (to divide a digital image into visible pixels) with 'pixilate' (an older verb meaning to make someone act whimsically, playfully, or slightly mad, as if enchanted by pixies).
• Rhymes for pixelate
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 20th century from 'pixel' (a blend of 'pix', a colloquial abbreviation of 'pictures', and 'el', short for 'element') combined with the verb-forming suffix '-ate'.