foreshorten

[ fawr-shawr-tn, fohr- ]

/ fɔrˈʃɔr tn, foʊr- /

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verb (used with object)

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.

to abridge, reduce, or contract; make shorter.

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Origin of foreshorten

First recorded in 1600–10; fore- + shorten

OTHER WORDS FROM foreshorten

un·fore·short·ened, adjective

Words nearby foreshorten

foreshadowing, foreshank, foresheet, foreshock, foreshore, foreshorten, foreshots, foreshow, foreside, foresight, foreskin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use foreshorten in a sentence

Of course he could, if he had cared to do so; for if you can foreshorten a limb or a hand, much more a tree branch.
Modern Painters, Volume V (of 5)|John Ruskin
The laws of perspective interfere and alter the apparent directions, and foreshorten the dimensions of its several parts.
The Catholic World; Vol. IV.; October, 1866, to March, 1867.|E. Rameur
After all, foreshortening is only good drawing, and a good draughtsman will foreshorten well, while a bad draughtsman will not.
The Painter in Oil|Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst
The mountains dwarf mankind and foreshorten the procession of its long generations.
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table|Oliver Wendell Holmes

You foreshorten as though you never used the model, and you've caught Kami's pasty way of dealing with flesh in shadow.
The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume Edition|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for foreshorten

foreshorten

/ (fɔːˈʃɔːtən) /

verb (tr)

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

to make shorter or more condensed; reduce or abridge

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012