blind

comparative blinder · superlative blindest · alternative obsolete blinde

1. not comparableUnable to see, or only partially able to see.

   his blind eye

   4 more examples

   Even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain of corn.

   Braille is a writing system for the blind.

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

   c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]

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

   1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC

   Synonyms: sightless · Antonyms: seeing, sighted

2. comparableFailing to recognize, acknowledge or perceive.

   Authors are blind to their own defects.

   2 more examples

   The lovers were blind to each other’s faults.

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

   2012, Katy Perry, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Dr. Luke, Cirkut, “Wide Awake”, in Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, performed by Katy Perry

3. not comparableHaving little or no visibility.

   a blind path

   3 more examples

   a blind ditch

   a blind corner

   the blind mazes of this tangled wood

   Comus

   1634 October 9 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC

4. not comparableClosed at one end; having a dead end; exitless.

   a blind gut

   4 more examples

   a blind alley

   a blind fistula

   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.

   1898, Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, page 498

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

   1914, James Joyce, Araby

5. not comparableHaving no openings for light or passage; both dark and exitless.

   a blind wall

   1 more example

   a blind alley

6. not comparableartsAble to be fixed without access to one end.

   a blind rivet

7. in certain phrasesSmallest or slightest.

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

   1 more example

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

8. not comparableWithout any prior knowledge.

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

   1 more example

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

9. not comparableUnconditional; without regard to evidence, logic, reality, accidental mistakes, extenuating circumstances, etc.

   blind justice

   4 more examples

   blind deference

   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

   1977, Dennis DeYoung, “The Grand Illusion”, in The Grand Illusion, performed by Styx

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

    a blind trial

11. Unintelligible or illegible.

    a blind passage in a book; blind writing

12. not having a well-defined head.

    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.

    1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 28

13. agricultureAbortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit.

    blind buds

    1 more example

    blind flowers

14. dated LGBTQ slangUncircumcised.

plural blinds · alternative obsolete blinde

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.

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

   1956, Delano Ames, chapter 12, in Crime out of Mind

   2 more 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.

   1847, editorial staff, “Swimming Skate”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 68

   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.

   1941 June, “Notes and News: The Derelict Glyn Valley Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 279

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

   Synonyms: rollsign

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

   a duck blind

   2 more examples

   Field biologists use blinds, and so do hunters.

   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.

   2010, Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad, Corsair (2011)

4. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge, deception.
5. governmentA blindage.
6. A hiding place.

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

   1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

7. colloquialball gamesThe blindside.
8. slangball gamesNo score.
9. card gamesA forced bet: the small blind or the big blind.

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

10. card gamesA player who is forced to pay such a bet.

    The blinds immediately folded when I reraised.

present singular third person blinds · participle present blinding · participle past blinded · past blinded · humorous nonstandard participle past blound · humorous nonstandard past blound · alternative obsolete blinde

1. transitiveTo make temporarily or permanently blind.

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

   2 more examples

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

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

   May 9, 1686 (date of preaching), Robert South, The Fatal Imposture and Force of Words (sermon)

2. informalobsolete except when paired; especially eff and blind; obsolete except when paired; especially eff and blindTo curse, swear, use foul language

   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.

   1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Young British Soldier

   1 more example

   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.

   1960, P. G. Wodehouse, “Chapter 4”, in Jeeves in the Offing

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

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

   1676, Edward Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome

   1 more example

   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.

   1717, John Dryden, “Book XI. [The Story of Ceyx and Alcyone.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 396

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.

comparative more blind · superlative most blind · alternative obsolete blinde

1. Without seeing; unseeingly.

   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.

   1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 196

2. colloquialAbsolutely, totally.

   to swear blind

   1 more example

   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.

   1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 195

3. three card bragcard gamesWithout looking at the cards dealt.
4. especiallyin compoundscookingAs a pastry case only, without any filling.

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

   2 more examples

   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 […]

   2012, Frank D. Conforti, Food Selection and Preparation: A Laboratory Manual, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 63

   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.

   2013, Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 490

plural Blinds

1. A surname.