Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having convergent strabismus: A medical condition where the eyes are turned inward toward the nose, causing them to not align properly when looking at an object. This is the primary and most specific meaning.
   • Having eyes that appear to be turned inward: More generally, describing a person whose eyes seem to look toward each other.

Usage

• The term is used to describe a specific visual condition. It can be used in both medical and everyday contexts.
• Note on Usage: While a clinical term, "cross-eyed" can be considered informal or potentially insensitive when used to describe a person directly. More neutral or clinical terms like "having strabismus" are often preferred in formal or respectful discourse.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The optometrist diagnosed the child as being cross-eyed.
  • He became temporarily cross-eyed while trying to focus on the tip of his nose.

Advanced Usage

• "to go cross-eyed": A common phrase meaning to temporarily cause one's eyes to turn inward, often due to focusing on a very close object, fatigue, or dizziness.
  • If you look at your finger while bringing it closer to your nose, you might go cross-eyed.
  • Reading that tiny print for hours made me go cross-eyed.

Variants and Related Words

• Strabismus (n): The general medical term for misalignment of the eyes.
• Esotropia (n): The specific medical term for convergent strabismus (eyes turning inward).
• Cross-eye (n): A less common noun form referring to the condition itself.
• Wall-eyed (adj): Having divergent strabismus, where the eyes turn outward (the opposite condition).

Synonyms

• Squinting: While not a perfect synonym, "squinting" can sometimes be used informally to describe a similar appearance, though it technically refers to partly closing the eyes.
• Having a squint: A common British English term for strabismus.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Look at something cross-eyed": To look at something with great suspicion, disapproval, or confusion.
  • The accountant looked at the messy receipts cross-eyed.
• While not a phrasal verb, the expression "go cross-eyed" (as shown in Advanced Usage) is a fixed verbal phrase.

Adjective

1. having convergent strabismus