presbyopia

noun

pres·​by·​o·​pia ˌprez-bē-ˈō-pē-ə How to pronounce presbyopia (audio)
ˌpres-
: a visual condition which becomes apparent especially in middle age and in which loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye causes defective accommodation and inability to focus sharply for near vision
presbyopic adjective or noun

Examples of presbyopia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Current Clinical Trials and Outcomes Clinical trials have started on the effectiveness of spiral diopter lenses for correcting presbyopia. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 How do Vuity eyedrops for presbyopia work? Steven Odierna As Told To Stephanie Dolgoff, Good Housekeeping, 9 Mar. 2022 That is called presbyopia. Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2023 In the past, reading glasses have been used to treat presbyopia. Natasha Dado, PEOPLE.com, 10 Dec. 2021 In fact, around 90% of people over age 45 has some degree of presbyopia, according to research. Steven Odierna As Told To Stephanie Dolgoff, Good Housekeeping, 9 Mar. 2022 Patients who need help focusing at different distances (say, were nearsighted but were also developing presbyopia) were once relegated to bifocal glasses or the more seamless progressive lenses. Alexandra Ossola, Quartz, 15 Sep. 2021 The eye drops don’t treat the cause of presbyopia but helps treat its symptoms. Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2021 These are simply garden-variety nearsightedness and farsightedness as well as astigmatism (distorted vision at all distances) and presbyopia, which is the loss of up-close focusing ability (hello, reading glasses!). Meryl Davids Landau, Good Housekeeping, 13 Mar. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'presbyopia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek presbys old man + New Latin -opia

First Known Use

1767, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of presbyopia was in 1767

Dictionary Entries Near presbyopia

Cite this Entry

“Presbyopia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/presbyopia. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

presbyopia

noun
pres·​by·​opia ˌprez-bē-ˈō-pē-ə How to pronounce presbyopia (audio) ˌpres- How to pronounce presbyopia (audio)
: a visual condition which becomes apparent especially in middle age and in which loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye causes defective accommodation and inability to focus sharply for near vision

More from Merriam-Webster on presbyopia

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