perspective
Pluralperspectives
Pluralperspectives
- 1A particular standpoint from which something is perceived, judged, or analyzed.
Like two photographers framing the same street and capturing completely different scenes.
Each historian brings a different perspective to the same set of events.
From an economic perspective, the policy looks far less appealing.
UsageUsually from a … perspective: from an economic perspective, from her perspective.
Similarviewpoint, standpoint, angle, outlook, view
Note
The painter's fixed vantage point became a habit of mind: every account of experience is taken from somewhere. Keep it distinct from the sense of proportion. A perspective is one particular angle, while having perspective means being able to weigh things against each other.
- 2The capacity to judge things in proper relation to one another, seeing their true relative importance.
Like zooming out on a map until a single street no longer fills your view.
A good night's sleep can restore your perspective on a stressful problem.
Travel gave him the perspective to see his hometown troubles as minor.
UsageCommon phrases: put things in perspective, keep things in perspective, gain perspective on a problem.
Similarbalance, objectivity
- 3The technique of depicting solid objects on a flat surface so that they appear to have depth and distance.
Like standing between tall buildings and watching their tops appear to lean together.
Renaissance painters mastered perspective to give their scenes convincing depth.
The drawing uses perspective to make the hallway recede toward a distant door.
UsageThings are drawn in perspective; a drawing that gets it wrong is out of perspective.
- 4An expansive view or outlook over a landscape or scene.
Like the panorama that opens up when you reach a mountain summit.
The tower offered a sweeping perspective across the rooftops of the old city.
From the observation deck, visitors enjoy a broad perspective over the harbor and the islands beyond.
- 5Relating to perspective: the representation of depth on a flat surface.
The architect prepared a perspective view of the proposed building.
Art classes still teach perspective methods developed during the Renaissance.
UsageUsed before a noun: a perspective drawing, a perspective view.
Less common meanings
- 6A picture or artwork that represents solid objects with depth on a flat surface.
Like a stage backdrop painted so a flat street seems to stretch far behind the actors.
Collectors prized the small perspective showing a sunlit courtyard.
Among the drawings in the exhibition was an eighteenth-century perspective of a palace courtyard, its columns shrinking toward a distant gate.
Note
Here the word names a finished picture rather than the drawing technique, so it is countable: a perspective, two perspectives. Outside architecture it is now uncommon, met mostly in older writing about paintings and prints. Architects still use it for a drawing or rendering that shows how a planned building will look, such as an exterior perspective. Elsewhere, say a perspective drawing or a perspective view.
- 7The perception of depth and distance between objects, aided especially by binocular vision.
Like two photos taken a few inches apart that together suggest depth.
Binocular vision gives us the perspective needed to catch a ball mid-flight.
Without two working eyes, a person's sense of perspective can be unreliable.
Similardepth
- 8Serving as an aid to sight, or having to do with optics and the science of vision.
Note
An obsolete adjective best known from the phrase perspective glasses; the old noun for the instrument names the same device. It keeps the optical meaning of the Latin root, the science of sight, rather than the painter's. In modern writing use optical instead, and read perspective this way only in older texts, where it is easily mistaken for the art term.
Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Perspective has an obsolete adjective sense relating to visual assistance or optics. en.wiktionary.org
- In 'Of Seeming Wise', Bacon writes 'prospectives'. 'A perspective glass, a telescope' is an editor's explanatory gloss. en.wikisource.org
- The old noun perspective and perspective glass name the same instrument. en.wiktionary.org
- The optical adjective retains the sight-related meaning of its Latin derivation. en.wiktionary.org
- 9A sound recording technique for adjusting and blending sound sources so they seem naturally placed.
- 10An optical instrument fitted with lenses for viewing distant objects; a telescope or spyglass.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Attested in Middle English since 1381, "perspective" came through Old or Middle French from the first word of the Medieval Latin phrase perspectiva ars ("science of optics"). This traces back to Latin perspicere ("to inspect, look through"), from per- ("through") plus specere ("to look at"), with the noun sense also influenced by Italian prospettiva.
Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
- The word is attested in Middle English since 1381. en.wiktionary.org
- English borrowed the word through Old or Middle French. en.wiktionary.org
- The source was the first word of Medieval Latin perspectiva ars, meaning science of optics. en.wiktionary.org
- The word ultimately derives from Latin perspicere, meaning to inspect or look through. en.wiktionary.org
- Perspicere combines per-, meaning through, with specere, meaning to look at. en.wiktionary.org
- Italian prospettiva also influenced the English noun. en.wiktionary.org