astigmatism
1 synonym for astigmatism, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — In optics, astigmatism is a defect of a lens where light rays from a single point fail to meet at one focal point, so the resulting image is blurred.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun optics
In optics, astigmatism is a defect of a lens where light rays from a single point fail to meet at one focal point, so the resulting image is blurred.
“The lens had a slight astigmatism that softened the edges of every photo.”
2. noun pathology
In medicine, astigmatism is a vision disorder, usually caused by a misshapen cornea, in which light does not focus correctly on the retina and the image appears blurred.
“Her optician diagnosed mild astigmatism during the eye test.”
How to use astigmatism
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
It is a technical term from optics and medicine, most often met at the optician's or in scientific writing.
Etymology
The word combines the negative prefix a- with a form of the Ancient Greek stigma, meaning mark or point, and the suffix -ism, so it literally suggests the absence of a single point. It was coined by the English polymath William Whewell in 1846.
Full origin of astigmatism →