foreshorten

American  

[fawr-shawr-tn, fohr-] / fɔrˈʃɔr tn, foʊr- /

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.

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foreshorten British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• unforeshortened adjective

Etymology

Origin of foreshorten

First recorded in 1600–10; fore- + shorten

Explanation

When an artist foreshortens, she makes an object appear closer or a distance shorter than it is, to create a sense of depth in a painting or drawing. To foreshorten is to create a kind of optical illusion simply by making lines shorter or angling the perspective in a certain way. It's a technique used in art and design, but it's also a phenomenon you may observe in the world: "The angle from which she's looking foreshortens the mountain, making it look closer." This word dates from about 1600.

Example Sentences

Mantegna exploits the new Renaissance pictorial science to dramatically foreshorten the body of Christ, showing it feet-forward in a way that emphasises the terrible reality of death.

From The Guardian • Jun. 19, 2014

If there were reasons to foreshorten the mission, however, they were apparently not medical.

From Time Magazine Archive

A head-thumping, sword-swishing, bow-twanging technicolor attempt to foreshorten the popular episodes of the Soo-year-old saga into the perspective of a single connected story.

From Time Magazine Archive

His use of telephoto lenses to foreshorten perspective is so expert that it is often unnoticeable.

From Time Magazine Archive

It must foreshorten its pictures by abstractions, and this includes not merely the omission of events and deeds, but whatever is involved in the fact that Thought is, after all, the most trenchant epitomist.

From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 07 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes by Various