blind — English Dictionary

blind
Word-form referencesblende
Pronunciations (6)
  • /ˈblaɪ̯nd/
  • [ˈblaɪ̯nd]
  • /ˈblaːnd/
    Pronunciation notes
    • General-South-African
    • Southern-US
  • [ˈblaːnd]
    Pronunciation notes
    • General-South-African
    • Southern-US
  • /ˈblɪnd/
    Pronunciation notes
    • Northumbria
  • blaɪnd

Adjective

  1. Unable to see, or only partially able to see.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    Synonyms
    Examples

    Even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain of corn.

    Braille is a writing system for the blind.

    More examples (3)

    his blind eye

    He that is strucken blind cannot forget / The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.

    He was plainly blind, for he tapped before him with a stick, and wore a great green shade over his eyes and nose...

  2. Failing to recognize, acknowledge or perceive.

    Usage
    • comparable
    Examples

    The lovers were blind to each other’s faults.

    Authors are blind to their own defects.

    More examples (1)

    God knows that I tried / Seeing the bright side / (I’m wide awake) / But I’m not blind anymore

  3. Having little or no visibility.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    • of a place
    Examples

    a blind path

    a blind ditch

    More examples (2)

    a blind corner

    the blind mazes of this tangled wood

  4. Closed at one end; having a dead end; exitless.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    Examples

    a blind alley

    a blind fistula

    More examples (3)

    a blind gut

    The naric-hypophysial canal was blind at both ends, and paired olfactory sacs opened into it, as well as a narrow canal from the front of the gut.

    North Richmond street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free.

  5. Having no openings for light or passage; both dark and exitless.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    Examples

    a blind wall

    a blind alley

  6. Able to be fixed without access to one end.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    • of a fastener
    Examples

    a blind rivet

  7. Smallest or slightest.

    Usage
    • in-certain-phrases
    • in the negative
    Examples

    I shouted, but he didn’t take a blind bit of notice.

    We pulled and pulled, but it didn't make a blind bit of difference.

  8. Without any prior knowledge.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    Examples

    He took a blind guess at which fork in the road would take him to the airport.

    I went into the meeting totally blind, so I really didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.

  9. Unconditional; without regard to evidence, logic, reality, accidental mistakes, extenuating circumstances, etc.

    Usage
    • not-comparable
    Examples

    blind deference

    blind justice

    More examples (3)

    blind punishment

    1787–1788, John Jay, The Federalist Papers This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation.

    America spells competition / Join us in our blind ambition / Get yourself a brand-new motor car

  10. Using blinded study design, wherein information is purposely limited to prevent bias.

    Examples

    a blind trial

  11. Unintelligible or illegible.

    Examples

    a blind passage in a book; blind writing

  12. not having a well-defined head.

    Examples

    There it was, right in the middle of my forehead - the biggest, blindest, reddest pimple I'd ever seen, just hanging there like a limpet mine.

  13. Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit.

    Examples

    blind buds

    blind flowers

  14. Uncircumcised.

Noun

  1. A movable covering for a window to keep out light, made of cloth or of narrow slats that can block light or allow it to pass.

    Examples

    It is a piece of wood furnished with two parallel rows of plates, folding over each other, so as to resemble, in some degree, the laths of a blind.

    A blind bearing the monogram G.V.T. is pulled down over the waiting room window as if still in mourning for the passing of the railway.

    More examples (1)

    Light filtered in through the blinds of the french windows. It made tremulous stripes along the scrubbed pine floor.

  2. A destination sign mounted on a public transport vehicle displaying the route destination, number, name and/or via points, etc.

  3. A place where people can hide in order to observe wildlife.

    Examples

    a duck blind

    Field biologists use blinds, and so do hunters.

    More examples (1)

    A gang of children […] stampede along a slatted path to a blind beside a watering hole: a wooden hut full of long benches with a slot they can peek through, invisible to the animals.

  4. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge, deception.

  5. A blindage.

  6. A hiding place.

    Examples

    So, when the watchful shepherd, from the blind, Wounds with a random shaft the careless hind

  7. The blindside.

    Usage
    • Colloquial
  8. No score.

    Usage
    • Slang
  9. A forced bet: the small blind or the big blind.

    Examples

    The blinds are $10 and $20, and the ante is $1.

  10. A player who is forced to pay such a bet.

    Examples

    The blinds immediately folded when I reraised.

Verb

  1. To make temporarily or permanently blind.

    Usage
    • Transitive
    Examples

    The light was so bright that for a moment he was blinded.

    Don’t wave that pencil in my face—do you want to blind me?

    More examples (1)

    A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead is […] a much greater.

  2. To curse, swear, use foul language

    Usage
    • Informal
    Examples
    More examples (2)

    If you’re cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind, Don’t grouse like a woman, nor crack on, nor blind; Be handy and civil, and then you will find That it’s beer for the young British soldier.

    I could see the unfortunate man felt his position deeply, and I was surprised that he contented himself with a mere ‘Ouch !’ But I suppose these solid citizens have to learn to curb the tongue. Creates a bad impression, I mean, if they start blinding and stiffing as those more happily placed would be.

  3. To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal.

    Examples
    More examples (1)

    He ſought, but in the dark tempeſtuous Night He knew not whither to direct his Sight. So whirl the Seas, ſuch Darkneſs blinds the Sky, That the black Night receives a deeper Dye.

    The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound.

  4. To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel, for example a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.

Adverb

  1. Without seeing; unseeingly.

    Examples

    It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.

  2. Absolutely, totally.

    Usage
    • Colloquial
    Examples

    to swear blind

    It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.

  3. Without looking at the cards dealt.

  4. As a pastry case only, without any filling.

    Usage
    • especially
    • In compounds
    • with ‘bake’
    Examples

    Blind bake your pie case for fifteen minutes, then add the filling. This will help avoid a “soggy bottom”.

    More examples (2)

    If the shell is going to be baked without a filling, “baking the crust blind,” prick the bottom and sides of the crust to allow the steam to escape. Another variation: line the bottom of the crust with parchment paper […]

    PIE WEIGHTS: When you are baking a crust blind, which means when you are partially or fully baking it without filling (see blind-baking, page 474), you need something to keep the crust from puffing up: weights.

Adjective

  1. unable to see

    Synonyms
    Antonyms
  2. unable or unwilling to perceive or understand

    Examples

    blind to a lover's faults

    blind to the consequences of their actions

  3. not based on reason or evidence

    Synonyms
    Examples

    blind hatred

    blind faith

    More examples (1)

    unreasoning panic

Noun

  1. people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group

    Broader terms
    Examples

    he spent hours reading to the blind

  2. a hiding place sometimes used by hunters (especially duck hunters)

    Examples

    he waited impatiently in the blind

  3. a protective covering that keeps things out or hinders sight

    Synonyms
    Examples

    they had just moved in and had not put up blinds yet

  4. something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity

    Synonyms
    Examples

    he wasn't sick — it was just a subterfuge

    the holding company was just a blind

Verb

  1. render unable to see

    Broader terms
  2. make blind by putting the eyes out

    Broader terms
    Examples

    The criminals were punished and blinded

  3. make dim by comparison or conceal

    Synonyms
    Broader terms
Word forms
blinderblindestblindeblindsblindsblindingblindedblindedbloundbloundmore blindmost blind

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