high-resolution

high-resolution — adjective

1. High-resolution screens, photos, or images show very fine details clearly becaus

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

High-resolution screens, photos, or images show very fine details clearly because the picture is made of many tiny dots or pixels.

Example

The new tablet has a high-resolution screen that makes text look sharp and easy to read.

collocation: high-resolution screen

Yara printed her high-resolution photos on large paper for the gallery show.

Common collocations
  • high-resolution + screen / display / monitor
  • high-resolution + photo / photograph / image
  • high-resolution + camera / scanner / printer
  • high-resolution + satellite / map / scan
Synonyms
  • high-definition

    used mainly for video and television content, while high-resolution is broader (screens, photos, scans)

  • sharp

    informal; suggests clear edges in an image without specifying technical resolution

  • detailed

    broader in meaning — can describe anything with many visible features, not just images

Antonyms
  • low-resolution

    direct opposite; an image with few pixels showing little detail

  • blurry

    informal; describes an image whose edges and features are not clearly defined

Grammar Patterns

high-resolution + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun (attributive position). The predicative form (e.g. "This screen is high-resolution") is uncommon in formal writing, though it appears in informal contexts.

Common Mistakes

I need a high resolution photo for printing.
I need a high-resolution photo for printing.
When the compound adjective comes before the noun, it must be hyphenated.
The camera takes resolution high pictures.
The camera takes high-resolution pictures.
The adjective must come before the noun, not after it.

Word family

  • resolution
    nounB1
  • high-res
    adjectiveB2
  • low-resolution
    adjectiveB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

High-resolution is the most precise technical term for an image made of many pixels or dots. High-definition (HD) is a specific standard for video and television (720p, 1080p) — you would not call a printed photo "high-definition." Sharp is informal and describes the subjective quality of visible edges: a sharp photo has clear boundaries between objects. Detailed means the image contains many visible features, but a photo can be detailed even if it is not technically high-resolution (e.g., a complex painting photographed at low resolution still shows many details). Clear is the broadest term and can describe anything easy to see or understand. For example: "The magazine printed a sharp, high-resolution photo of the athlete crossing the finish line" — here high-resolution explains the technical quality, while sharp adds the visual impression.

high-definitionsharp ↗detailed ↗clear ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • high-resolution version of
  • in high resolution

Etymology

Old EnglishLatinEnglish

Formed by combining 'high' (from Old English heah, meaning great in degree) and 'resolution' (from Latin resolutionem, meaning a loosening or breaking into parts). In photography and display technology, 'resolution' has been used since the mid-1800s to describe how finely an optical system can separate detail. The compound adjective 'high-resolution' became common in the mid-1900s with the rise of digital imaging and computer displays.