perspective: Meaning and Definition of

per•spec•tive

Pronunciation: (pur-spek'tiv), [key]
— n.
  1. a technique of depicting volumes and spatial relationships on a flat surface. Cf.
  2. a picture employing this technique, esp. one in which it is prominent: an architect's perspective of a house.
  3. a visible scene, esp. one extending to a distance; vista: a perspective on the main axis of an estate.
  4. the state of existing in space before the eye: The elevations look all right, but the building's composition is a failure in perspective.
  5. the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc., in having a meaningful interrelationship: You have to live here a few years to see local conditions in perspective.
  6. the faculty of seeing all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship: Your data is admirably detailed but it lacks perspective.
  7. a mental view or prospect: the dismal perspective of terminally ill patients.
—adj.
  1. of or pertaining to the art of perspective, or represented according to its laws.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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