Myopic
/maɪˈɑːpɪk/
adjectiveC1
Definition
Myopic describes a condition where a person can see things clearly only when they are very close but not far away. It also means someone who thinks only about the present or small details and does not consider the future or larger ideas.
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See It in Action
Physical vision problem (nearsightedness)
- •She wears glasses because she is myopic and cannot see far.
- •Myopic people often need to squint to see distant objects.
- •The doctor said his myopic eyes need a stronger lens.
Narrow or limited thinking or planning
- •The company's myopic focus on short-term profits hurt its long-term success.
- •Politicians can be myopic when they ignore future consequences of their decisions.
- •His myopic view stopped him from seeing better opportunities.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "myopic" like "short-sighted," but not just with eyes—also with ideas or plans.
- ✓Picture looking through a camera that only focuses on things very close, making far things blurry.
- ✓It's the feeling when you only care about today’s problems and ignore what might happen later.
- ✓Sounds like "my-OH-pick" → imagine picking only the closest apples and ignoring the whole tree.
- ✓Think about people who only see small parts of a problem, missing the whole picture.
- ✓NOT like "clear-sighted" (can see far and understand well), myopic means limited view.
- ✓NOT like "open-minded" (ready to consider many ideas), myopic means closed to new or broad ideas.
- ✓NOT just a physical eye problem; it is often used to describe narrow thinking or planning.
Try Other Words
- •Narrow-minded: limited in ideas or opinions (Use when talking only about thinking, not physical vision)
- •Nearsighted: unable to see far (Use when talking only about the eye condition)
- •Limited: small or not enough (Use when describing small or weak ideas or plans)
Unboxing
- •Prefix "myo-" comes from Greek meaning "to shut" or "to close the eyes"
- •Root "-opic" comes from Greek "opsis," meaning "sight" or "vision"
- •Originally used to describe a physical eye condition of seeing only close objects clearly
- •Later used metaphorically to describe narrow or limited thinking or planning
- •Today, it is common both in medical and figurative language
Reflect & Connect
•How can being myopic in thinking affect decisions in your life or work?
•Can you think of a time when you or someone else was myopic and missed an important bigger picture?
Fill in the blanks
1.People who are myopic need glasses to see objects that are ___ far away.
2.A myopic person often focuses only on ___ problems and ignores future effects.
3.Unlike an open-minded person, someone myopic has a ___ view of ideas.
4.The company's myopic strategy caused it to lose money in the ___ term.
5.When people are myopic, they sometimes ___ important details that are not close.
6.Myopic thinking can ___ the chance to find better solutions.
7.The doctor said his myopic vision needs ___ lenses to improve sight.