Meanings
- uncountableA restricted field of vision, especially as the result of looking through some type of object or a medical condition.
Some people experience tunnel vision during a panic attack.
3 more examples
It took some time for him to get used to the tunnel vision he experienced while looking through a periscope.
Often people with AD have a form of tunnel vision and don't see obstacles […]
2000, Mark L. Warner, The Complete Guide to Alzheimer's—Proofing Your Home, Purdue University Press, →ISBN, page 378The most frequent visual distortion was “tunnel vision,” in which the officer became so focused on one object that everything else at the scene went unnoticed. This phenomenon is frequently experienced by victims of a terrifying event as well.
2008, Curt R. Bartol, Anne M. Bartol, Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Research and Application, SAGE, →ISBN, page 64 - figurativelyuncountableThe tendency to focus one's attention on one specific idea or viewpoint, to the exclusion of everything else.
After Mark fell victim to tunnel vision, nothing you could say to him would change his mind.
1 more example
Having friends that are too much like yourself force you to have a tunnel vision. I believe tunnel vision is a form of blindness. Your span of thinking becomes too narrow, and you close yourself off of so many other great ways of thinking in life.
2014, Paul Nijar, Everything I Thought I Was & What I Came to Be, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 209Synonyms: one-track mind
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe tendency to focus one's attention on one specific idea or viewpoint, to the exclusion of everything else.
Translations
Danish tunnelsyn
- tunnelsynrestricted field of vision
Dutch tunnelvisie
- tunnelvisierestricted field of vision
Finnish putkinäkö
- putkinäkörestricted field of vision
French vision tunnellaire, vision tunnelisée
- vision tunnellairerestricted field of vision
- vision tunneliséerestricted field of vision
German Tunnelblick
- Tunnelblickrestricted field of vision
Greek σωληνοειδής όραση
- σωληνοειδής όραση (solinoeidís órasi)restricted field of vision
Hungarian csőlátás
- csőlátásrestricted field of vision
Norwegian Bokmål tunnelsyn
- tunnelsynrestricted field of vision
Polish widzenie lunetowe
- widzenie lunetowerestricted field of vision
Russian тунне́льное зре́ние
- тунне́льное зре́ние (tunnélʹnoje zrénije)restricted field of vision
Spanish visión de túnel
- visión de túnelrestricted field of vision
Swedish tunnelseende
- tunnelseenderestricted field of vision
Cite this entry
tunnel vision. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunnel%20vision
“tunnel vision.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunnel%20vision. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tunnel vision,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunnel%20vision.
Source: tunnel vision on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.