1

I have seen the word myopic used metaphorically to refer to a person who is very short-sighted (can't anticipate the consequences of their actions). Of course myopic is also used in the medical sense to refer to a person who is literally short-sighted.

Is hyperopic also commonly used this way to refer to a person who has exceptional planning abilities and can anticipate consequences easily? Are there examples of it being used this way? Dictionaries define it in the medical sense only.

2 Answers 2

3

In general few would use a negative medical condition to describe a positive trait.

This would be the equivalent of saying that some has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy when you mean they have a big heart.

Foresightedness (n.) is a far more positive way to say this than farsightedness (n.). While farsightedness is acceptable, it still carries an initial "recoil" as a negative before it gets reinterpreted as potentially positive.

His foresightedness was legendary.
He possessed great foresight.
He was foresighted.

21
  • 1
    "Foresightedness" is an abomination. The trait is "foresight"; one who has foresight is "foresighted"; it's ridiculous to add -ness to get back to where you started. In contrast, "farsight" is not a common noun; "farsightedness" actually makes sense. Ngrams (not an authority, I know) seem to agree with me: books.google.com/ngrams/…
    – MT_Head
    Commented Mar 31, 2014 at 3:31
  • 1
    @DavidM Would it be worthwhile to add that farsightedness implies a defect in near vision, and not merely good distance vision? This implicit visual restriction undermines the benefit. Though, I agree that to use a negative condition to describe a positive trait produces some "recoil."
    – Mike
    Commented Mar 31, 2014 at 10:23
  • 1
    @DavidM - "Foresightedness" seems ridiculous to me for the same reason that "beautifulness" would. First we have a quality x; we add a suffix to turn it into an adjective meaning "possessing quality x"; then we add a suffix to mean "the quality of possessing quality x". I don't dispute that it's in the dictionary; given time, a lot of tripe ends up in the dictionary - see irregardless. I do dispute that it ought to be recommended.
    – MT_Head
    Commented Mar 31, 2014 at 16:57
  • 1
    I would have had no objection at all if you'd just recommended "foresight", by the way.
    – MT_Head
    Commented Mar 31, 2014 at 16:59
  • 1
    In a world where reading is less common than today, farsightedness is a much more positive trait than a negative one. Being able to see well at long distances has uses, that others appreciate.
    – Oldcat
    Commented Mar 31, 2014 at 17:57
1

I've never seen "hyperopic" used this way, but its usual layman's equivalent farsighted is quite commonly used in this sense.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .