tunnel vision
Americannoun
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a drastically narrowed field of vision, as in looking through a tube, symptomatic of retinitis pigmentosa.
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the tendency to look at things from only one point of view; prejudice or narrow-mindedness.
All empires invariably produce a kind of tunnel vision.
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a fixation on only one objective, course of action, etc..
These special interest groups operate with defiantly single-minded tunnel vision.
noun
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a condition in which peripheral vision is greatly restricted
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narrowness of viewpoint resulting from concentration on a single idea, opinion, etc, to the exclusion of others
Usage
What does tunnel vision mean? Literally, tunnel vision is a term meaning that the edges of your vision are lost and only central focus remains, as if you were looking through a tunnel. Figuratively, it is a lack of perspective caused by intense focus on one object, leading to neglect of your surroundings and responsibilities or being closed off to other viewpoints. How do you pronounce tunnel vision?[ tuhn-l vizh-uhn ]
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tunnel vision
First recorded in 1940–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In my own home more often than not, my door shut on the close ones, tunnel vision on, one small part of the enormous quiet congregation of a country doing a single thing together.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
One theory was that Ford suffered from tunnel vision.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
"There was no plan B, there was no other thing, it was just tunnel vision to win that medal," he says.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
But you can go further, by getting AI to point out the patterns that lead to tunnel vision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
Time does slow down now and I get a kind of tunnel vision.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
