Foreshortens

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To alter the proportions of a visual representation so that an object appears shorter or closer, while also summarizing a narrative's content or duration to make it more concise
2. Represents an object in drawing or painting so it looks shorter than it is; shortens a story or explanation to its essentials
3. Portrays something visually with reduced length for a perspective effect; condenses a narrative to a more concise form

Etymology: "Foreshorten" is a plain compound: "fore-" (meaning "before" or "in front") joined to "shorten." The "fore-" element goes back to Old English, where it carried the sense of something placed in front, and it appears in many English words such as "forehead" and "foreground." "Shorten" is older still in English and was built on the adjective "short." Put together, the verb describes making something shorter in a forward-facing way, which is exactly how an artist handles a limb or object angled toward the viewer. The drawing sense came first in practice: artists needed a term for the technique of depicting a form receding toward the eye, so that a foot pointing at the viewer looks stubby rather than long. The figurative sense, trimming a story or explanation to its essentials, grew out of this visual meaning, so a summary that cuts away detail is treated as a kind of visual compression.

Synonyms: shortens, contracts, diminishes, reduces, abbreviates

Antonyms: lengthens, extends, expands, elongates, prolongs