Adjacent Words

Blind definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BLIND, a.
1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect, or by deprivation;not having sight.
2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable to understand or judge; ignorant; as authors are blind to their own defects.
Blind should be followed by to; but it is followed by of, in the phrase,blind of an eye.
3. Unseen;; out of public view; private; dark; sometimes implying contempt or censure; as a blind corner.
4. Dark; obscure; not easy to be found; not easily discernible; as a blind path.
5. Heedless; inconsiderate; undeliberating.
This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation or blind reprobation.
6. In scripture, blind implies not only want of discernment, but moral depravity.
BLIND, v.t. To make blind; to deprive of sight.
1. To darken; to obscure to the eye.
Such darkness blinds the sky.
2. To darken the understanding; as, to blind the mind.
3. To darken or obscure to the understanding.
He endeavored to blind and confound the controversy.
4. To eclipse.
BLIND, or BLINDE, See Blend, an ore.
BLIND, n. Something to hinder the sight.
Civility casts a blind over the duty.
1. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding; as, one thing serves as a blind for another.
2. A screen; a cover; as a blind for a window, or for a horse.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: unable to see; "a person is blind to the extent that he must devise alternative techniques to do efficiently those things he would do with sight if he had normal vision"--Kenneth Jernigan [syn: blind, unsighted] [ant: sighted]
2: unable or unwilling to perceive or understand; "blind to a lover's faults"; "blind to the consequences of their actions"
3: not based on reason or evidence; "blind hatred"; "blind faith"; "unreasoning panic" [syn: blind, unreasoning] n
1: people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group; "he spent hours reading to the blind"
2: a hiding place sometimes used by hunters (especially duck hunters); "he waited impatiently in the blind"
3: a protective covering that keeps things out or hinders sight; "they had just moved in and had not put up blinds yet" [syn: blind, screen]
4: something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity; "he wasn't sick--it was just a subterfuge"; "the holding company was just a blind" [syn: subterfuge, blind] v
1: render unable to see
2: make blind by putting the eyes out; "The criminals were punished and blinded"
3: make dim by comparison or conceal [syn: blind, dim]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German blint blind, Old English blandan to mix — more at blend Date: before 12th century 1. a. (1) sightless (2) having less than 1/10 of normal vision in the more efficient eye when refractive defects are fully corrected by lenses b. of or relating to sightless persons 2. a. unable or unwilling to discern or judge <blind to a lover's faults> b. unquestioning <blind loyalty> <blind faith> 3. a. having no regard to rational discrimination, guidance, or restriction <blind choice> b. lacking a directing or controlling consciousness <blind chance> c. drunk 1a 4. a. made or done without sight of certain objects or knowledge of certain facts that could serve for guidance or cause bias <a blind taste test> <a blind clinical trial> — compare double-blind, single-blind b. having no knowledge of information that may cause bias during the course of an experiment or test <physicians blind to whether the test drug is administered> 5. defective: as a. lacking a growing point or producing leaves instead of flowers b. lacking a complete or legible address <blind mail> 6. a. difficult to discern, make out, or discover b. hidden from sight ; covered <blind seam> 7. having but one opening or outlet <blind sockets> 8. having no opening for light or passage ; blank <blind wall> • blindly adverb • blindness noun II. transitive verb Date: before 12th century 1. a. to make blind b. dazzle 2. a. to withhold light from b. hide, conceal • blindingly adverb III. noun Date: 1678 1. something to hinder sight or keep out light: as a. a window shutter b. a roller window shade c. venetian blind d. blinder 2. a place of concealment; especially a concealing enclosure from which one may shoot game or observe wildlife 3. a. something put forward for the purpose of misleading ; subterfuge b. a person who acts as a decoy or distraction IV. adverb Date: circa 1775 1. blindly: as a. to the point of insensibility <blind drunk> b. without seeing outside an airplane <fly blind> c. without knowledge of certain facts that could serve for guidance or cause bias <was supposed to taste the wine blind> 2. — used as an intensive <was robbed blind>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., v., n., & adv. --adj. 1 lacking the power of sight. 2 a without foresight, discernment, intellectual perception, or adequate information (blind effort). b (often foll. by to) unwilling or unable to appreciate (a factor, circumstance, etc.) (blind to argument). 3 not governed by purpose or reason (blind forces). 4 reckless (blind hitting). 5 a concealed (blind ditch). b (of a door, window, etc.) walled up. c closed at one end. 6 Aeron. (of flying) without direct observation, using instruments only. 7 Cookery (of a flan case, pie base, etc.) baked without a filling. 8 sl. drunk. --v. 1 tr. deprive of sight, permanently or temporarily (blinded by tears). 2 tr. (often foll. by to) rob of judgement; deceive (blinded them to the danger). 3 intr. sl. go very fast and dangerously, esp. in a motor vehicle. --n. 1 a a screen for a window, esp. on a roller, or with slats (roller blind; Venetian blind). b an awning over a shop window. 2 a something designed or used to hide the truth; a pretext. b a legitimate business concealing a criminal enterprise (he's a spy, and his job is just a blind). 3 any obstruction to sight or light. 4 Brit. sl. a heavy drinking-bout. 5 Cards a stake put up by a poker player before the cards dealt are seen. 6 US = HIDE(1) n. --adv. blindly (fly blind; bake it blind). Phrases and idioms: blind alley 1 a cul-de-sac. 2 a course of action leading nowhere. blind as a bat completely blind. blind coal coal burning without a flame. blind corner a corner round which a motorist etc. cannot see. blind date 1 a social engagement between a man and a woman who have not previously met. 2 either of the couple on a blind date. blind drunk extremely drunk. blind gut the caecum. blind man's buff a game in which a blindfold player tries to catch others while being pushed about by them. blind side a direction in which one cannot see the approach of danger etc. blind spot 1 Anat. the point of entry of the optic nerve on the retina, insensitive to light. 2 an area in which a person lacks understanding or impartiality. 3 a point of unusually weak radio reception. blind stamping (or tooling) embossing a book cover without the use of colour or gold leaf. blind-stitch n. sewing visible on one side only. --v.tr. & intr. sew with this stitch. blind to incapable of appreciating. blind with science overawe with a display of (often spurious) knowledge. go it blind act recklessly or without proper consideration. not a blind bit of (or not a blind) sl. not the slightest; not a single (took not a blind bit of notice; not a blind word out of him). turn a (or one's) blind eye to pretend not to notice. Derivatives: blindly adv. blindness n. Etymology: OE f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blind Blind, a. [AS.; akin to D., G., OS., Sw., & Dan. blind, Icel. blindr, Goth. blinds; of uncertain origin.] 1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect or by deprivation; without sight. He that is strucken blind can not forget The precious treasure of his eyesight lost. --Shak. 2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge; as, authors are blind to their own defects. But hard be hardened, blind be blinded more, That they may stumble on, and deeper fall. --Milton. 3. Undiscerning; undiscriminating; inconsiderate. This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation. --Jay. 4. Having such a state or condition as a thing would have to a person who is blind; not well marked or easily discernible; hidden; unseen; concealed; as, a blind path; a blind ditch. 5. Involved; intricate; not easily followed or traced. The blind mazes of this tangled wood. --Milton. 6. Having no openings for light or passage; as, a blind wall; open only at one end; as, a blind alley; a blind gut. 7. Unintelligible, or not easily intelligible; as, a blind passage in a book; illegible; as, blind writing. 8. (Hort.) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit; as, blind buds; blind flowers. Blind alley, an alley closed at one end; a cul-de-sac. Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. --Knight. Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night. Blind cat (Zo["o]l.), a species of catfish (Gronias nigrolabris), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania. Blind coal, coal that burns without flame; anthracite coal. --Simmonds. Blind door, Blind window, an imitation of a door or window, without an opening for passage or light. See Blank door or window, under Blank, a. Blind level (Mining), a level or drainage gallery which has a vertical shaft at each end, and acts as an inverted siphon. --Knight. Blind nettle (Bot.), dead nettle. See Dead nettle, under Dead. Blind shell (Gunnery), a shell containing no charge, or one that does not explode. Blind side, the side which is most easily assailed; a weak or unguarded side; the side on which one is least able or disposed to see danger. --Swift. Blind snake (Zo["o]l.), a small, harmless, burrowing snake, of the family Typhlopid[ae], with rudimentary eyes. Blind spot (Anat.), the point in the retina of the eye where the optic nerve enters, and which is insensible to light. Blind tooling, in bookbinding and leather work, the indented impression of heated tools, without gilding; -- called also blank tooling, and blind blocking. Blind wall, a wall without an opening; a blank wall.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blind Blind, Blinde Blinde, n. See Blende.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blind Blind, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blinded; p. pr. & vb. n. Blinding.] 1. To make blind; to deprive of sight or discernment. ``To blind the truth and me.'' --Tennyson. A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead is . . . a much greater. --South. 2. To deprive partially of vision; to make vision difficult for and painful to; to dazzle. Her beauty all the rest did blind. --P. Fletcher. 3. To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal; to deceive. Such darkness blinds the sky. --Dryden. The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound. --Stillingfleet. 4. To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel; as a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blind Blind, n. 1. Something to hinder sight or keep out light; a screen; a cover; esp. a hinged screen or shutter for a window; a blinder for a horse. 2. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge. 3. [Cf. F. blindes, p?., fr. G. blende, fr. blenden to blind, fr. blind blind.] (Mil.) A blindage. See Blindage. 4. A halting place. [Obs.] --Dryden.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(blinds, blinding, blinded) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Someone who is blind is unable to see because their eyes are damaged. I started helping him run the business when he went blind... ADJ • The blind are people who are blind. He was a teacher of the blind. N-PLURAL: the N • blindness Early diagnosis and treatment can usually prevent blindness. N-UNCOUNT 2. If something blinds you, it makes you unable to see, either for a short time or permanently. The sun hit the windscreen, momentarily blinding him. VERB: V n 3. If you are blind with something such as tears or a bright light, you are unable to see for a short time because of the tears or light. Her mother groped for the back of the chair, her eyes blind with tears. ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ with n • blindly Lettie groped blindly for the glass. ADV 4. If you say that someone is blind to a fact or a situation, you mean that they ignore it or are unaware of it, although you think that they should take notice of it or be aware of it. All the time I was blind to your suffering. ADJ: v-link ADJ to n [disapproval] • blindness ...blindness in government policy to the very existence of the unemployed. 5. If something blinds you to the real situation, it prevents you from realizing that it exists or from understanding it properly. He never allowed his love of Australia to blind him to his countrymen's faults. VERB: V n to n 6. You can describe someone's beliefs or actions as blind when you think that they seem to take no notice of important facts or behave in an unreasonable way. ...her blind faith in the wisdom of the Church... Lesley yelled at him with blind, hating rage. ADJ: usu ADJ n [disapproval] 7. A blind corner is one that you cannot see round because something is blocking your view. He tried to overtake three cars on a blind corner and crashed head-on into a lorry. ADJ: ADJ n 8. A blind is a roll of cloth or paper which you can pull down over a window as a covering. N-COUNT see also Venetian blind 9. see also blinding, blindly, colour-blind 10. If you say that someone is turning a blind eye to something bad or illegal that is happening, you mean that you think they are pretending not to notice that it is happening so that they will not have to do anything about it. Teachers are turning a blind eye to pupils smoking at school, a report reveals today... PHRASE: V inflects [disapproval]

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Blind beggars are frequently mentioned (Matt. 9:27; 12:22; 20:30; John 5:3). The blind are to be treated with compassion (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). Blindness was sometimes a punishment for disobedience (1 Sam. 11:2; Jer. 39:7), sometimes the effect of old age (Gen. 27:1; 1 Kings 14:4; 1 Sam. 4:15). Conquerors sometimes blinded their captives (2 Kings 25:7; 1 Sam. 11:2). Blindness denotes ignorance as to spiritual things (Isa. 6:10; 42:18, 19; Matt. 15:14; Eph. 4:18). The opening of the eyes of the blind is peculiar to the Messiah (Isa. 29:18). Elymas was smitten with blindness at Paul's word (Acts 13:11).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Sightless, destitute of vision, eyeless. 2. Ignorant, undiscerning, unenlightened, benighted, without insight, injudicious, incapable of judging. 3. Concealed, hidden, remote, obscure, dim, unlucid, involved, intricate, labyrinthine, confused, mazy, dark, private. 4. Indiscriminate, heedless, careless, thoughtless, inconsiderate, headlong, rash. 5. Closed, shut, issueless, without exit, leading nowhere. II. v. a. 1. Make blind, deprive of sight. 2. Hoodwink, blindfold. III. n. 1. Screen, cover, shade, curtain. 2. Blinder, blinker. 3. Concealment, disguise, pretext, misleader, pretence, ruse, feint, stratagem.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A feint, pretence, or shift.

Moby Thesaurus

ableptical, abstruse, alibi, amaurotic, ambuscade, ambush, ambushment, amorphous, apology, art, artful dodge, artifice, automatic, awning, back band, backstrap, bag of tricks, bamboozle, bandage, bat, be bright, beach umbrella, beacon, beam, bearing rein, becloud, beclouded, bedazzle, befog, bellyband, benight, benighted, bereft of light, bit, blank, blanket, blaze, blind drunk, blind man, blind the eyes, blind to, blind-alley, blinders, blindfold, blindfolded, blinds, blinker, blinkers, blotto, bluff, booby trap, boozy, bosey, breeching, bridle, buried, burn, camouflage, canned, caparison, catch, cavesson, cecal, checkrein, cheekpiece, chicanery, chinband, choked, choked off, chouse, cinch, clear as mud, cloak, close, closed, cloud, clouded, cloudy, collar, color, color-blind, compulsive, conceal, concealed, conditioned, conspiracy, constricted, contracted, contrivance, coup, cover, cover story, cover up, cover-up, covered, covert, craft, crownband, crupper, curb, curtain, curve, curve-ball, cute trick, dark, darken, daze, dazzle, dead, dead-end, deaf, deceit, deceive, deception, delusional, dense, deprive of sight, design, device, diffuse light, dim, dim-sighted, dim-witted, dirty deal, dirty trick, disguise, disguised, dissemble, distract attention from, dodge, dogmatic, drape, drapery, drunk, dull-witted, eclipse, eclipsed, ensconce, enshroud, envelop, excecate, excuse, expedient, eye patch, eyeless, facade, fakement, fast deal, feint, fetch, ficelle, flame, flare, flash, flat, foggy, fool, forced, front, fulgurate, fuzzy, gag swivel, gambit, game, gimmick, girth, give light, glance, glare, gleam, glint, gloss, gloss over, glow, googly, gouge, grift, guise, hackamore, halter, hames, hametugs, handle, harness, hazy, headgear, headstall, heedless, helpless, hemeralopic, hid, hidden, hide, hip straps, hocus-pocus, hoodwink, imperceptive, impercipient, impervious to, impetuous, impulsive, in a cloud, in a fog, in darkness, in eclipse, in purdah, in the wings, incandesce, incommunicado, inconsiderate, indeterminate, indiscriminate, indistinct, inebriated, insensible, insensible to, insensitive, instinctive, intrigue, involuntary, irrational, jaquima, jerk line, joker, juggle, jugglery, keep under cover, knavery, lackluster, lame excuse, latent, light shield, lines, little game, locus standi, lurking hole, luster, lusterless, make blind, maneuver, martingale, mask, mat, mechanical, mind-blind, mindless, misty, mole, move, muddled, muddy, murky, muted, myopic, mysterious, nearsighted, nebulous, nonunderstanding, noseband, nyctalopic, obfuscate, obfuscated, oblivious, obscure, obscured, obtuse, occult, opaque, ostensible motive, out, out cold, overcome, overshadow, paralyzed, parasol, pass, passed out, pixilated, plastered, plot, ploy, pole strap, poor excuse, positive, preoccupied, pretense, pretension, pretext, protestation, public motive, purblind, put-off, racket, radiate, rash, rayless, reckless, recondite, red herring, reflex, reflexive, refuge, reins, ribbons, ruse, saddle, scam, scheme, screen, scurvy trick, secluded, secluse, secret, semblance, send out rays, senseless, sequestered, shade, shader, shadow, shadowing, shadowy, shaft tug, sham, shapeless, shift, shine, shine brightly, shoot, shoot out rays, short-sighted, shortsighted, show, shroud, shut, side check, sightless, sleight, sleight of hand, sleight-of-hand trick, slow, slow-witted, slur over, smoke screen, snaffle, snow-blind, spiritually blind, squeezed shut, stalking-horse, stark blind, stiff, stone-blind, stoned, strangulated, stratagem, strategy, strike blind, stupid, subterfuge, sunblind, sunshade, surcingle, surveillance, tack, tackle, tactic, the blind, the sightless, the unseeing, thick, thoughtless, transcendent, trap, trappings, trick, trickery, tug, umbrella, unapprehending, unaware of, unclear, uncomprehending, unconscious, unconscious of, under an eclipse, under cover, under house arrest, under the table, under wraps, underground, undiscerning, undiscriminating, unenlightened, unintentional, unknown, unopen, unopened, unperceiving, unperceptive, unpersuadable, unplain, unreasoning, unseeing, unsighted, unthinking, unvented, unventilated, unwilled, unwilling, unwitting, vague, varnish, veil, visionless, weak-minded, whitewash, wile, wily device, winker braces, wrapped in clouds, yoke