far sighted

8 synonyms and 4 antonyms for far sighted, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adjective — Able to see distant objects clearly while close objects appear blurred. The usual British term is long-sighted and the clinical term is hyperopic.

Synonyms

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

prudent visionary

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

long-sighted hyperopic hypermetropic prescient forward-thinking shrewd

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adjective

Able to see distant objects clearly while close objects appear blurred. The usual British term is long-sighted and the clinical term is hyperopic.

“He is far-sighted and needs glasses to read a menu.”

long-sighted hyperopic hypermetropic

Opposites

near-sighted short-sighted myopic

2. adjective

Showing good judgement about what will be needed in the future; planning well ahead.

“A far-sighted council bought the land thirty years before it was needed.”

prescient forward-thinking prudent visionary shrewd

Opposites

short-sighted myopic reactive

How to use far sighted

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

far-sighted vision far-sighted decision far-sighted policy far-sighted leadership

Both senses are neutral; the optical sense is American, the planning sense is used everywhere.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between far-sighted and near-sighted?

A far-sighted eye focuses light behind the retina, so distance vision is clearer and close work is blurred and tiring. A near-sighted eye focuses light in front of the retina, so reading is fine but road signs are a blur. Far-sightedness is corrected with convex (plus) lenses, near-sightedness with concave (minus) ones.

Is far-sighted the same as long-sighted?

Yes. Long-sighted is the usual British term and far-sighted the American one; the clinical name in both is hyperopia. Presbyopia, the age-related loss of close focus after about 40, is a separate condition often mistaken for it.

Can far-sighted describe a person's thinking as well as their eyes?

It can, and that sense is entirely positive — it means someone who anticipates what is coming. Confusingly, short-sighted is used the same way as an insult, meaning someone who only thinks about the immediate.

People also searched

prudent reactive visionary myopic hypermetropic hyperopic shrewd prescient

Nearby words

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