Words / C2

my-OP-ik/maɪˈɒpɪk/

Myopic means unable to see far (the medical sense), and more often, lacking long-term thinking: a myopic policy, myopic leadership. Short-sighted is the everyday British equivalent for both senses; narrow is looser. Myopia is the noun. In speech, short-sighted is almost always better. The figurative sense is critical: cheap now, costly later. Do not call a carefully limited brief myopic if the limit was the point.

Meaning

Unable to see far (literally); more often, lacking long-term thinking.

Examples

• “The policy was myopic: cheap now, costly later.”
• “The policy was myopic: cheap now, costly later, and nobody owned the later.”
• “Myopic focus on one metric starved the rest of the curriculum.”

Good to know

Short-sighted (eyes, or planning). Everyday: short-sighted. Noun: myopia. Figurative = critical of missing the long term. Contrast: a deliberately narrow brief.

Near in meaning

short-sighted

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