myopia

noun

my·​o·​pia mī-ˈō-pē-ə 

1

: a condition in which the visual images come to a focus (see focus entry 1 sense 4) in front of the retina of the eye resulting especially in defective vision of distant objects : nearsightedness

She wears glasses to correct her myopia.

2

: a lack of foresight or discernment : a narrow view of something

… those require long-term commitments, which in our current myopia we cannot take on.

—Adam Smith

Examples of myopia in a Sentence

She wears eyeglasses to correct her myopia.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the myopia that results, especially in the face of an uncertain world—where crisis after crisis pops up like the old arcade game of Whack-a-Mole—the temptation is to make changes based on flitting and unknowable assumptions that do absolutely nothing to determine success over the long term. —James Berman, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024

Both Fulbright’s vision and his myopia form the story of his country’s twentieth-century rise. —Charles King, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2021

What about the role of electronic devices in promoting myopia? —Gary Stix, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024

By the numbers: The more than threefold increase in the prevalence of myopia from 1990 to 2023 was tracked by researchers based in Guangzhou, China. —April Rubin, Axios, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek myōpia, from myōp-, myōps

First Known Use

circa 1654, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

myopia

noun

my·​o·​pia mī-ˈō-pē-ə 

1

: the condition of being nearsighted

2

: a lack of foresight : a narrow view of something

myopic

-ˈō-pik  -ˈäp-ik 

adjective

Medical Definition

myopia

noun

my·​o·​pia mī-ˈō-pē-ə 

: a condition in which the visual images come to a focus in front of the retina of the eye because of defects in the refractive media of the eye or of abnormal length of the eyeball resulting especially in defective vision of distant objects

called also nearsightedness

compare astigmatism sense 2, emmetropia