perspective
Pluralperspectives
Pluralperspectives
- 1A single way of looking at or thinking about something.
Like looking at the same thing through different windows.
From her perspective, the new rules made the office fairer.
Try to see the problem from your brother's perspective.
UsageSay from someone's perspective: from her perspective.
Similarviewpoint, standpoint, angle, outlook, view
Note
- 2The ability to see what really matters and what does not.
Like stepping back from a painting to see the whole picture instead of one small spot.
After the trip, she gained some perspective on her small worries.
Losing his job gave him perspective about what truly mattered.
UsageCommon phrases: put things in perspective, gain perspective.
Similarbalance, objectivity
- 3A way of drawing so that flat pictures look like they have real depth.
Like how train tracks seem to meet far away even though they never do.
The art teacher showed us how to draw a road using perspective.
His early sketches ignored perspective, so the buildings looked flat.
UsageYou draw something in perspective.
- 4
- 5Having to do with showing depth in drawings or pictures.
The students learned the basic perspective rules for drawing rooms.
She drew a perspective grid to help place the furniture.
UsageGoes before a noun: a perspective drawing.
Less common meanings
- 6A picture that shows objects with real-looking depth.
Like a window painted on a wall that looks real enough to step through.
The architect drew a perspective of the new school for the town meeting.
The gallery displayed a faded perspective from the seventeenth century.
Note
- 7The way objects look like they have depth, especially when seen with both eyes.
Like holding up a finger and closing each eye in turn, making it seem to jump.
If you cover one eye, you lose some perspective and the world looks flatter.
Good perspective helps you judge how close the next step is.
Similardepth
- 8Helping people see, or relating to eyesight and optics.
Note
- 9A way of recording and combining sounds so they seem naturally placed at different distances from the listener.
- 10An old tube with lenses used to see faraway things, like a small telescope.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of perspective apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It came from Latin words meaning "through" and "to look at," giving the idea of looking through or inspecting. English took it through Old French from a Medieval Latin term for the science of optics.
Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The ultimate Latin components mean through and to look at. en.wiktionary.org
- The Latin formation conveys looking through or inspecting. en.wiktionary.org
- English received the word through Old French. en.wiktionary.org
- Its Medieval Latin source designated the science of optics. en.wiktionary.org