Foreground Meaning
/ˈfɔː(ɹ)ˌɡɹaʊnd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe elements of an image which lie closest to the picture plane.
nounThe subject of an image, often depicted at the bottom in a two-dimensional work.
Sentence Examples
The couch is in the foreground next to the table.
The man in the background is my grandfather, and my father is in the foreground.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The artist intentionally placed the bright red apple in the ____ to attract viewers' attention immediately.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The photographer focused on the flowers in the ____, leaving the distant mountains slightly blurred.
Word Origin & History
From fore- + ground. Compare Dutch voorgrond (“foreground”), German Vordergrund (“foreground”), Danish forgrund (“foreground”), Swedish förgrund (“foreground”), Norwegian forgrunn (“foreground”), Icelandic forgrunni (“foreground”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Note the presence in the foreground of the fronds of ailanthus, often called “ghetto palm,” now ubiquitous in Baltimore but apparently already common in the 1930s."
— 2006, Mark Chalkley, Hampden-Woodberry:
"Right from the start, The Irishman foregrounds the looming inevitability of death."
— 2019 October 31, A. A. Dowd, “Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro reunite for one last gripping crime epic, The Irishman”, in AV Club, archived from the original on 21 Aug 2020:
"Things that were implicit and largely unjudged in the book, filtered through layers of stiff-upper-lip irony — Fanny’s self-pity, Linda’s obliviousness — are now foregrounded and, for the most part, rendered banal, with “Beaches”-level platitudes and sentimentality."
— 2021 July 29, Mike Hale, “Review: ‘The Pursuit of Love’ Against All Odds”, in The New York Times:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The artist intentionally placed the bright red apple in the ____ to attract viewers' attention immediately.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The photographer focused on the flowers in the ____, leaving the distant mountains slightly blurred.