anamorphosis
Americannoun
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anamorphoses
plural
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a drawing presenting a distorted image that appears in natural form under certain conditions, as when viewed at a raking angle or reflected from a curved mirror.
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the method of producing such a drawing.
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Zoology, Entomology. the gradual change in form from one type to another during the evolution of a group of organisms.
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(in certain arthropods) metamorphosis in which body parts or segments are added to those already present.
noun
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optics
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an image or drawing distorted in such a way that it becomes recognizable only when viewed in a specified manner or through a special device
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the process by which such images or drawings are produced
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the evolution of one type of organism from another by a series of gradual changes
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of anamorphosis
1720–30; < Greek, equivalent to anamorphō- (variant stem of anamorphoûn to transform; see ana-, morpho-) + -sis -sis
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead, her moves were attuned to an anticipated visual experience—something like the forced perspective of a raked theater stage or the optical illusion of anamorphosis.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 4, 2016
Indeed, if artists of marked talent ever experimented with what is called cone, cylinder or pyramid anamorphosis, their work has vanished.
From Time Magazine Archive
By the 17th century, anamorphosis and other tricks of perspective were common currency.
From Time Magazine Archive
The sun was setting, and its slanting rays caused the shadow to assume the appearance of an anamorphosis of ludicrous proportions.
From The Ape, the Idiot & Other People by W. C. Morrow
It may indeed be a matter of very grave consideration whether true anamorphosis ever occurs in the whole animal kingdom.
From Thomas Henry Huxley; A Sketch Of His Life And Work by P. Chalmers (Peter Chalmers) Mitchell
Such anamorphoses are "restored" by placing a mirror-surfaced solid, usually a cylinder, at the focus of the design.
From Time Magazine Archive
Thus does the present offer us only shapes for optical anamorphoses, and only our spirit is the sublime mirror which transposes them into fair human forms.
From Titan: A Romance v. 1 (of 2) by Jean Paul Friedrich Richter
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
