foreshorten
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.
Origin of foreshorten
1Other words from foreshorten
- un·fore·short·ened, adjective
Words Nearby foreshorten
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
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 RuskinThe laws of perspective interfere and alter the apparent directions, and foreshorten the dimensions of its several parts.
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 ParkhurstThe mountains dwarf mankind and foreshorten the procession of its long generations.
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table | Oliver Wendell HolmesYou 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
/ (fɔːˈʃɔːtən) /
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
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