foreshorten

[fawr-shawr-tn, fohr-]

verb (used with object)

1. Fine Arts.,  to reduce or distort (parts of a represented object that are not parallel to the picture plane) in order to convey the illusion of three-dimensional space as perceived by the human eye: often done according to the rules of perspective.

2. to abridge, reduce, or contract; make shorter.

foreshorten

/ fɔːˈʃɔːtən /

verb

1. to represent (a line, form, object, etc) as shorter than actual length in order to give an illusion of recession or projection, in accordance with the laws of linear perspective

2. to make shorter or more condensed; reduce or abridge

Other Word Forms

• unforeshortened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of foreshorten¹

First recorded in 1600–10; fore- + shorten

Example Sentences

The entire food chain of intermediaries in the subprime mortgage market was duping itself with the same trick, using the foreshortened, statistically meaningless past to predict the future.

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She has foreshortened arms and legs, with one digit on each hand.

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Sansom gave Shardlake a deformed spine — unkind folks call him “crookback” — and, along with the prosthetics, Hughes, born with radial dysplasia, brings his own foreshortened, twisted right arm.

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Until they realize that living together, as messy as it is likely to be, is far preferable to the existential fear of foreshortened, forestalled and anxiety-filled lives recycled forever.

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But that version of the story has been so foreshortened that I think it skips over the most significant facts, not to mention the unanswered questions.

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