different between granular vs granule

English

Etymology

From granule +? -ar. Compare French granulaire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???æn.j?.l?(?)/

Adjective

granular (comparative more granular, superlative most granular)

1. Consisting of, or resembling, granules or grains

   a granular substance

2. grainy

   It has a granular structure

   • 1790, Abraham Mills, Some Strata in Ireland and Scotland, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 80

     This Whyn Dyke is bare at the cliffs ?everal yards in height, and is near nine feet in width. It con?i?ts of an inner part of a granular and ?omewhat porous texture...

Usage notes

• It is common to speak of things being "more granular" or "less granular", but this is potentially confusing: something "granular" is composed of small, discrete entities as opposed to being continuous, which is primarily a binary distinction, not a matter of degree. Moreover, it is unclear if "more granular" and "less granular" indicate finer or coarser granularity. For example, granular sugar is so called because it consists of relatively large grains, in contrast with powdered sugar, so "more granular" sugar might be coarser, like a grainier or "more granular" photograph with larger and thus more visible grains. In other cases, "more granular" indicates finer, more plentiful grains or divisions. For clarity, one can refer specifically to finer or coarser granularity. In the superlative, one may refer to finest or coarsest granularity.

Synonyms

• granulous; see also Thesaurus:granular

Derived terms

• granularity

Related terms

• coarse-grained
• fine-grained
• grain
• granulate
• granulation
• granule

Translations

References

• granular in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• granular in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• Merriam-Webster OnLine 2008

Interlingua

Adjective

granular (not comparable)

1. granular (in the shape of grains)

Romanian

Etymology

From French granulaire

Adjective

granular m or n (feminine singular granular?, masculine plural granulari, feminine and neuter plural granulare)

1. granular

Declension

Spanish

Adjective

granular (plural granulares)

1. granular

Verb

granular (first-person singular present granulo, first-person singular preterite granulé, past participle granulado)

1. to granulate

Conjugation

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin granulum, diminutive of Latin granum (“grain”); for more, see grain.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /???anju?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /???ænjul/, /???ænj?l/

Noun

granule (plural granules)

1. A tiny grain, a small particle.
2. (biology) A small structure in a cell.
3. (geology) A particle from 2 to 4 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale
4. (astronomy) a small mark in the photosphere of the sun caused by convection currents. See also Wikipedia:Granule (solar physics).

Related terms

• grain
• granular
• granularity
• granulate
• granulation

Translations

Further reading

• granule in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• granule in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• langure, unregal

French

Pronunciation

• Homophones: granulent, granules

Verb

granule

1. first-person singular present indicative of granuler
2. third-person singular present indicative of granuler
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of granuler
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of granuler
5. second-person singular imperative of granuler

Spanish

Verb

granule

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of granular.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of granular.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of granular.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of granular.