shortsighted

American  

[shawrt-sahy-tid] / ˈʃɔrtˈsaɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. unable to see far; nearsighted; myopic.

2. lacking in foresight.

   a shortsighted plan.

   Synonyms:

   improvident, careless, heedless, unthinking

   Antonyms:

   prudent

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Other Word Forms

• shortsightedness
  noun
• shortsightedly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of shortsighted

First recorded in 1615–25

Explanation

If you're shortsighted, you do something without considering the long-term effects of your actions. It's shortsighted to eat a massive snack at 5:30 when you promised your grandmother you'd come for dinner at 6. A city council might make the shortsighted decision to save money this year by drastically cutting the school budget. They're so focused on right now that they neglect to think about the negative consequences for students. Such a shortsighted action might even hurt the city itself in the future, when people move away in search of better-funded schools. In the UK, shortsighted also means "nearsighted," but in North America the more figurative meaning is most common.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shortsighted

Foley, however, cautioned that trying to pinpoint any one factor of disease growth is probably shortsighted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Investors have become less interested in Tesla’s car business lately, but some analysts see that as shortsighted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

This strategy may prove as shortsighted as it is ugly.

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2026

That is a little shortsighted because 75-to-80% of our content is proprietary and not visible to any LLM.

From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026

And all the while, Mel told her that though most people were threatened by those who were different, not everyone was so shortsighted.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

Related Words

• foolish
• ill-advised
• ill-considered
• impractical
• imprudent
• myopic
• stupid