Meanings
present singular third person foreshortens · participle present foreshortening · participle past foreshortened · past foreshortened
- To make shorter.
The Californian duo looked and sounded like the kind of band you would have seen being excitedly introduced on The Old Grey Whistle Test in early 1976, only to find their career suddenly foreshortened by the arrival of punk
2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian1 more example
When the church was demolished it was decided to preserve the chancel, partly for its Montagu monuments and partly to avoid disturbing the remains of the many members of the family who lie in the vaults beneath. The result is a foreshortened building of considerable charm, almost as broad as it is long and with great high windows.
1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 51, as an adjective
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo abridge, reduce, contract.
More synonyms by meaning
verbreduce in scope while retaining essential elements
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*per-
- Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*pr̥h₂éy
- Proto-Germanic*furai
- Proto-Germanic*furai-
- Proto-West Germanic*forē-
- Old Englishfore-
- Middle Englishfore-
- Englishfore-
- Englishshorten
- Englishforeshorten
Cite this entry
foreshorten. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreshorten
“foreshorten.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreshorten. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “foreshorten,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreshorten.
Source: foreshorten on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.